


Kindness Rules My Kingdom

by Taepeas



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Knight AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2018-09-23 17:36:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 42
Words: 39,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9669074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taepeas/pseuds/Taepeas
Summary: A Knight AU about the relationship between Pearl and the Great Rose Quartz





	1. Prologue

A long time ago, the great Rose Quartz visited Earth on a mission to scope out the planet to see if it was fit to establish a kindergarten there.  After a few samples were tested, the okay was given to start the kindergarten project on the planet Earth.  One thousand years later, we return to Earth to find something that we never expected to find.  The homo sapiens (they called themselves humans) that had once sparsely populated the earth have now grown into huge communities and towns!  Fascinated, Rose and I went down together to investigate.  This then lead to a short hundred-year research project on them.  During that time, Rose fell in love with humans.  She had never before met a species that was so inventive, and so resourceful.  However, Rose was conflicted.  The kindergarten project was progressing at a steady rate, but if it continued then the humans would slowly die out with their planet.

Eventually, Rose decided to talk to her diamond, Pink Diamond, about it.  She completely threw the idea down “There just another mortal species!" she said. She never said it at the time, but I knew that she didn’t want to give up the only planet that she had control of. All of her other sisters were much older, and had a much stronger hold on the planets that they controlled. As more and more kindergartens were built, Rose became more and more nervous. The beautiful, lush grass that filled the earth began to wither, leaving behind nothing more than a shell of the land that lay before. Crops refused to grow. Vegetation died.  Diseases started to fester left and right.  We really didn't have a choice.  We would have to shut down the earth kindergarten project completely.  When Rose went back to talk to Pink Diamond, she was met with intense rejection.  Pink Diamond was fed up with Rose.  She felt that her "fiddling with earth creatures" was wasting time.  She gave her an ultimatum: continue the Kindergarten project or face getting shattered by Pink Diamond herself.  Rose really didn't want to fight Pink Diamond.  She greatly respected her, but she couldn't let a helpless species die such an unnecessary death.

One day, Rose spent an unusually long time talking to Pink Diamond. She would regularly go to Pink Diamond and talk about the earth, but it had never taken this long. Every time she went, I would get nervous. I mean, this is Pink Diamond! Sure, she may be the youngest diamond, but she was a diamond nevertheless. She could shatter a gem faster than then they could react. The musings of a lowly quartz soldier really didn’t mean anything to her. So when Rose finally came back from the talk, I was relieved. But what she said next shocked every fiber of my being:

_Rose Quartz had shattered Pink Diamond._

Can you imagine that? A lowly quartz soldier somehow had managed to shatter Pink Diamond! I was in shock, but I didn’t have enough time to process it. She had told me that she had barely managed to run away after the shattering. It would be only a matter of time that the word would get out that a Rose Quartz shattered Pink Diamond. She had given me a choice. Fight for earth, or go back to homeworld. No one knew that I was on Rose’s side. All I would have to do would feign ignorance and no one would bat an eye. _You don’t have to do this with me._ She said.

But of course, I wanted to.

If I went back to homeworld, what would happen to me? Sure, I wouldn’t be charged with conspiring to shatter Pink Diamond, but would I _really_ be living? I, a lowly Pearl, would go back to White Diamond, and White Diamond would yell at me for taking my sweet time on earth. Things would go back to normal; but did I really want it to? No…no I didn’t. I was tired of being a plaything. I was tired of being told what I could and couldn’t do. I was ready to pave my own path, and Rose Quartz would help me do so.

So that was the beginning of the rebellion. It started off small at first. When homeworld heard that there was a small rebellion happening, they shrugged it off. They held so much power that they became smug; no one would leave homeworld because they knew that if they lost, then they would be shattered. But slowly, gems began to deflect. As more and more gems heard about the rebellion, they began to imagine themselves in it. _But what if…what if I could be who **I** wanted to be?_ That single thought led to more and more thoughts, and eventually, many gems began to defect to the rebellion.

It was a long and hard fight. Many gems were shattered. Many friends were lost. But eventually, it seemed like we were winning. We, the small and insignificant rebel group somehow managed to get the upper hand! We started to notice that smaller and smaller groups of forces were being sent.

Then, all of a sudden, a message was sent to Rose with the offer of a peace treaty.  The remaining three diamonds promised to cease fire if they were given land and a portion of the humans to rule.  We didn't understand this revelation at all.  Why would they want humans now if they despised them before?  What were they planning? What was the real intention behind this action?

But we had no choice.  We couldn’t keep fighting forever.

And thus, this is how the 4 gem kingdoms came to be.


	2. Pink Diamond

_150 years later…_

The hallway to Rose Quartz’s study was a long one, filled with lovely paintings depicting the fights of old. Fights of triumph, fights of defeat. All put on display so that one could look at them with awe, amazed at how the great Rose Quartz commanded her gems to the victory that we all shared today.

But a certain gem was not interested in looking at these paintings at all. Pearl walked angrily through the hallway, muttering and grunting about one thing or another. Most Pearl’s would be flabbergasted with the beauty of this hallway, but this wasn’t just any other Pearl. This Pearl in particular was the right hand gem of Rose Quartz. This Pearl was the first recruit of the rebellion; she was the first one to step up to the plate to fight for her freedom. She was the lieutenant of Rose Quartz’s Kingdom.

Or should I say, Pink Diamond’s kingdom.

You see, even though Rose Quartz isn’t technically a Pink Diamond, the name ‘Pink Diamond’ invokes a feeling of regality, of respect. So when she settled onto the earth, she chose to adopt the name Pink Diamond.

Which would explain why the door that Pearl was about to slam open was labeled with ‘Pink Diamond’.

“Dearest Rose!” Pearl says as she slams open the door. “There has been an ambush by the Yellow Diamond forces!”

Rose Quartz calmly looks up from her book as Pearl smirks. “However,” Pearl says, “the perpetrators have been captured and are being held in a holding cell.”

Pearl walks to the front of Rose’s desk and sighs, crossing her arms. “What should we do with them?”

Rose sighs, putting her book down. “These poor individuals have been plagued by the ideology of the barbaric Yellow Kingdom.” Pearl nods gravely.

“We must teach them the ways of our Kingdom.” Rose says. “Please send them to me.”

Pearl nods in agreement. “Okay, I’ll bring them at once.”

Pearl bows. “I’ll take my leave now.”

Rose stands up. “Hold on.”

Pearl turns around. “Yes, Rose?”

Rose smiles before she closes the distance between her and Pearl, hugging her. Pearl sinks into the hug.

“Thank you for being such a good leader to our troops.” Rose says, voice full of sincerity.

Pearl brakes the hug to look up at Rose. “Of course Rose.” Pearl says, “Anything for you.”

Rose smiles. “Oh!” she says, “You didn’t happen to mention where the Yellow Diamond forces came in.”

“Oh right.” Pearl says, “They happened to get in through the sewers. We might have to put more forces there until we can get the area locked up from outside entry.”

Rose smiles. “Alright, I trust that it will go well.”

Pearl smiles.

* * *

 

Although our special lieutenant Pearl gets all the special treatment and all of the love and hugs from Rose Quartz, the rest of the Pearls have to have somewhere to hang out on their downtime. And that’s where our Pearl is heading right now. While our Pearl gets a nice little room for herself, the rest of the Pearl’s all live together in a dormitory. It may not seem fair, but they are fine with it. I mean, this Pearl, she was the first! She was the first to plunge into the fight so it should be fair that she gets the best pickings.

Right?

Pearl opens the door to see various Pearls sitting down in the common area, all quietly chatting with one another.

“Attention! There are new orders from Pink Diamond!”

All of the Pearl’s turn around and happily file around Pearl. Some of them come out of their rooms, happily filling in the back, ready to hear what their diamond has to say.

As soon as the last Pearl files in, the room becomes silent. Pearl clears her throat. “As you know,” she begins, “Yellow Diamond forces have attempted to ambush us, but due to everyone’s valiant efforts, we have managed to capture the perpetrators.”

 Pearl looks around as a few Pearl’s nod. “However, our work is not done yet. Our Valant Diamond knows the enemy like no other! She knows that the enemy does not rest and neither should we!

A few cheers rise from the audience. Pearl opens up a map of the Kingdom and shows it to the Pearls.

“Recently, we have noticed that there is a chance for a breech due to the fact that the sewers lead out to areas outside of Pink Diamond territory. These bandits had managed to take advantage of this before we had a chance to fix the problem. But not anymore!”

Pearl rolls up the map. “Pink Diamond has requested for extra protection in that area as the sewers are sealed. It will be an unpleasant task, but I know that you are all prepared to protect your kingdom!”

Yells and cheers start to erupt. Pearl’s start to fistpump, ready to protect their kingdom in any way that they can.

Pearl smiles as she takes out another piece of parchment. She lays it on the table next to her. “These will be your new assignments that will go into effect starting tonight! Be sure to inform the Pearl’s that are not here as well!”

“Yes sir!” the Pearl’s say in unison.

“That’s all for now. Enjoy the rest of your day and always keep the wise leader in your hearts and minds!”

And with that, Pearl leaves the dorm as a chorus of yells and cheers erupt behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Here is chapter 2!. Lots of people have viewed Chapter 1 and left Kudos and I really appreciate them. So, if you enjoy this chapter, please give a kudos, or a comment if you wish!


	3. The Diamonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, welcome to chapter 3! Today we will be learning about the Diamonds through some intel that was received by Pink Diamond forces.
> 
> I hope you all are enjoying the story so far? If you are, send a kudos or a comment, if you like! Thank you for reading, and i'll see you soon!

All is quiet around the Kingdom, not a peep in sight. The Pearl dorm, of course, is still brimming with activity, as many of the Pearl’s choose not to sleep and instead fill their nights with whatever fits their fancy. The Pearl Commander’s quarters are usually lit up all night as she works on new tactical plans. However, the light is off today. And the Pearl’s know, that when the light is off, Pearl is either on a mission, or with Rose.

Today she is with Rose.

“It took a few days, but all of the Pearls have finally settled into their new assignments.” Pearl says as she lays the Kingdom map in front of Rose. Rose starts to study the map.

Pearl continues. “It will probably take a few weeks to get the sewers completely sealed, then we can re-assign the Pearl’s again.”

Rose looks up, smiling. “Very good. Have you heard from our intel in the Yellow Diamond Kingdom?”

Pearl nods. “Our spy from the Yellow Diamond Kingdom has said that Yellow Diamond has moved on from ambushing us. It seems that their recent failure has led them to seek out better pastures. Apparently, they’re trying to ambush Blue Diamond’s base.”

“Blue Diamond? I thought they were all buddy buddy recently” Rose says, confused.

Pearl shrugs. “You know how the Diamonds are. Blue Diamond must have done something to anger Yellow Diamond. Unfortunately, our intel isn’t high enough on the ladder to about that yet, so we can only speculate.”

Rose nods. “I see. Anything from White Diamond intel?”

Pearl scoffs. “Well, you know, the usual. No organization, no order. Apparently, White Diamond threw a human over the castle walls the other day thinking it was a gem. So, nothing new, really.”

Rose sighs. “I see. Well, based on all of this intel, I believe it is best that we act now. Yellow Diamond is busy getting ready to ambush Blue Diamond, and while we could try to ambush them, I think it’s best that we leave them alone. We shouldn’t ambush Blue Diamond’s base now, because we never know when Yellow Diamond could act. Having soldiers from 3 Kingdoms in one area is cause for a war.”

Pearl nods. “I completely agree. So that means…?”

Rose nods. “Exactly. We should ambush White Diamond. While there isn’t anything of monetary value there, we most certainly can go in and save a few humans from the wrath of White Diamond.”

Pearl nods gravely. “That sounds like a great idea. I will get the Pearls ready to go as soon as possible.”

Rose nods. “Yes, please do. But there is one more thing.”

Pearl’s eyes widen. “What is it Rose?”

Rose looks down. “I have a special mission that I need you to do in White Diamond’s Kingdom…”

* * *

 

The Pearl dorm is silent as Pearl explains to them the details of their mission. They are to ignore every all of gems in the area. If all goes well, then they shouldn’t be fighting anyone at all.

The Pearls all look at each other in confusion. They’ve never had a mission like this before.

Pearl looks out at the crowd of confused faces and sighs. “We have received intel from the White Diamond Kingdom stating that White Diamond has been treating her humans as trash. We need to bring as many humans as we can to our Kingdom so that no more humans die under the tyranny of White Diamond.”

The Pearl’s start to mumble to themselves. Of course, of course. The Pearls know about White Diamond’s tyranny very well. Some of them were unfortunate enough to have to serve under her. Saving the humans would be a cause good enough to go into the lion’s den, so to speak.

“Now, I know that there are a bunch of recruits out there in the crowd. This mission would be the best opportunity to get you familiarized with how our missions work, but I must ask you to stay in the Kingdom to patrol. I usually am able to do it myself, but I’ll be joining the Pearls on this mission.

With that, all of the Pearls gasp. Pearl rarely goes on a mission with them. She is usually at the mission headquarters, busy routing and re-routing troops to maximize the rate of success. Hearing her go with them into another Kingdom was virtually unheard of.

Pearl smiles. “Do not fret, brave souls. Just because I am going into the Kingdom with you does not mean that this mission is any more dangerous than the other missions that we have gone on. The reason that I am going with you all this time is because I have received a special mission from Pink Diamond herself.”

With that, the murmurs start in the crowd again. I wonder what the mission is?

Pearl smiles. “Well, that is all for now. So get ready; we leave tonight.”

Pearl takes a bow before she leaves, and all of the Pearls shuffle around as they get themselves ready for their new mission.


	4. Private Pearl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, it's time for another chapter of KRMK! Today, we talk to one of the many members of the Pearl squad as she tells us about her experience living in the Pink Diamond Kingdom. Hope you enjoy!

Hello! My name is Pearl! No, I’m not the lieutenant! I’m just a new recruit; y’all can call me Private Pearl!

Today is a pretty important day! All of the Pearl’s are going to go on a mission to White Diamond’s Kingdom! Well, not me, of course. Lieutenant Pearl’s going on the mission too, so all us newer recruits were asked to stay and watch the Kingdom! I don’t mind, of course, I ain’t in no shape to go trekking along to the crazy diamond’s kingdom! Instead, all us private Pearl’s are stationed all around the Kingdom to make sure that nobody tries to do no funny business! Even though it’s dark out, that don’t stop any of the other Kingdoms from planning an attack, I mean, we are kinda planning an attack in the dead of night, so you know, ya can probably expect the other Kingdoms to do that as well.

Y’all probably wondering, “If you just became a Pearl recruit, what were you doing all this time?” That’s a good question! Ya see, not all Pearl’s in the Pink Diamond Kingdom fight. The great leader Pink Diamond (well, she’s not REALLY Pink Diamond, but that’s just what we call the great leader) she, well, she let’s US choose what we wanna do! That’s right! Whether y’all wanna be a ballerina, a cook, an engineer, whatever! You can do it here in Pink Diamond’s Kingdom.

While in the Kingdom, I spent my time jumping from profession to profession. I mean, it’s not like I didn’t like them, but just, ya know, there are so many fun an interesting things ta do! I wanted to do em all! I guess this is what led me ta join the Pink Diamond Army. Throughout all my jobs, I always, ALWAYS heard about Pink Diamond. I mean, how can ya not? The girl’s everywhere! On posters, on dem newspapers, there isn’t a day where I don’t hear about her! And let me tell you right now, it’s all good stuff, I mean this girl, I mean our leader, she-she’s the best. She was just a little foot soldier on homeworld, but then she said no more! She didn’t wanna be a soldier and so she fought back and she shattered the real, legit Pink Diamond! Can y’all believe that? She’s something special, that woman, I swear.

Anyways, so that’s why I joined the Pink Diamond army. So that I could give back to the leader that gave us so much. I remember on Homeworld, all I could do was sit around and be pretty! What kinda life is that? I mean, if y’all wanna do that, that’s fine, but I wanted to go out, try new things! So that’s why I’m here. Although, I’ll be honest with ya, I am a little disappointed that I can’t go to the White Diamond’s Kingdom, I never saw the woman, I was a Pearl under Blue Diamond’s rule, but I guess it’s for the best. I heard stories about that Diamond from other Pearl’s that were under her rule, and…well, they ain’t pretty. I actually heard a rumor that the gems in the White Diamond Kingdom eat humans alive! They don’t even need to eat! That must be a scary place to live. Well, at least we’ll be saving some humans from that mad kinda tyranny, cause no one ought ta go out like that.

Huh, looks like the suns starting to rise. That must mean that lieutenant Pearl and the rest of the army must be getting close to the White Diamond Kingdom anytime now…I wonder what’s going through their minds right now…


	5. White Diamond's Kingdom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Welcome to March, and welcome to a new chapter of KRMK! This week, we will be following Lieutenant Pearl and her Pearl forces to see what's going on in White Diamond's Kingdom. Maybe we will find a friend along the way?
> 
> Anyways, thank you for taking the time to read this chapter! Let me know what you think by sending a comment or a kudo! See you next week!

“But Lieutenant! I can’t see anything from this height!”

After the long and arduous trip, Pearl and her group of Pearl’s finally make it to the top of the mountain. White Diamond’s Kingdom is located directly north from the Pink Diamond Kingdom. Between the two Kingdoms lay nothing but fields and rolling hills. Directly in front of the Kingdom is the highest mountain in the area, which is the mountain that they are on now. The mountain is so huge one is unable to see the White Diamond Kingdom unless they were on top of it or in front of it. However, being in front of it would cause them to be easily seen from the White Diamond Kingdom. So that’s why they have set up camp near the top.

Lieutenant Pearl smiles. “Don’t worry, you will soon enough.”

And just as she had finished saying that, the clouds begin to dissipate, giving them a clear view of the Kingdom below. All of the Pearls gasp. “How did you know that would happen?” A Pearl asks.

“It’s simple enough” Pearl says as she gestures to the sky. “I have had a few solo missions here, so I have had amble time to study the weather here. And one thing I noticed is that the White Diamond Kingdom is always shrouded in clouds at night, making it impossible to see exactly where the Kingdom lays. However, about two hours before the sun rises, the clouds start to disappear. Pink Diamond thinks that this unusual behavior is the result of White Diamond’s doing.”

The Pearl’s start to murmur to themselves in hushed tones. Pearls turn to their members that were once under White Diamond, and many of them don’t look surprised. White Diamond was controlling, eccentric and…very deadly. It would make sense that she has the power to do something like this.

Lieutenant Pearl clears her throat and all of the Pearls stop talking. “Anyways, take a good look at the Kingdom, look for the frayed and broken homes. This is where the humans will be. This is where you will go. I have given you all sleeping powder from Pink Diamond. All you have to do is sprinkle a few on their face and they will be out for a few hours. That should be enough time for us to get back to our Kingdom.”

Lieutenant Pearl turns away from the crowd. “When you have a human, come back here; this will be the meeting place. If I am not here by the time the sun rises, then start heading back.”

The Pearl’s gasp again. Pearl turns around and smiles at her group of Pearls. She smiles reassuringly at them “Do not worry, I will be fine. It’s just my mission might take a little bit longer than yours will, so I don’t want to keep you waiting.”

The Pearls all nod soberly, they hope that they don’t have to go back without their fearless lieutenant.

Lieutenant Pearl claps her hands. “Well, that’s all the information I need to give you, so let’s go! For the glory of Pink Diamond!” Pearl fist pumps.

“Pink Diamond!” The crowd yells in unison before following their leader down the hill.

* * *

 

In the White Diamond Kingdom, there is a clear line between the humans and the gems. The humans live in shoddy, misshapen shacks while the gems live in huge, crystalline structures. Pearl instinctively knows that every single one of them were made by the Bismuths that are currently housed in the Kingdom. She watches as her troops turn to the right towards the human houses. She turns to the left, thinking of her task at hand. Rose had asked her to kidnap a gem for questioning. But, it couldn’t just be ANY gem. This gem had to be…special. In some way.

“Special…what does that even mean, Rose?” Pearl mumbles to herself. Suddenly, the alarm goes off. Jaspers and Amethysts start to run towards her. She turns towards the area where her Pearls are and heaves a sigh of relief. _Good, these brutes are all headed for me._

She runs towards them and slices them both, causing their bodies to explode into a poof of dust. She quickly bubbles them before dodging a battle ax. She turns around and swings, quickly finishing another troop.

_I don’t think these brutes are what Rose wanted._ Pearl thinks. _These brutes are probably too proud of their Diamond to get information from them. I need someone…less proud._

Pearl turns around just in time to dodge a club to the head. She whips around and slices that gem, and the two gems behind her. She sighs. _I’m gonna have to stab every single gem before I find the right one, won’t I?_

* * *

 

An hour later, and Pearl was still at it. She poofs one last gem before the area is quiet again. She uses this time to catch her breath. She looks around. Nothing. _Did she really poof every gem here?_

Suddenly, the doors open again, and people start running in towards Pearl. It doesn’t take a second for Pearl to realize that these are actually humans. She gasps. She can see gems fighting her, but _humans?_ White Diamond really has hit a new low.

She holds them back, careful to not seriously injure any of them. She uses the hilt of her blade to hit them, worried that she would accidently stab one of them. She sees a purple flash on the corner of her eye and turns to look. When she sees who created the flash, she smirks. _There you are, the special gem._

Pearl jumps out of the mob of humans and goes directly to the Amethyst. The Amethyst slowly turns her head to see her assailant before she is poofed.

* * *

 

The Pearls are all huddled on the top of the mountain, eagerly waiting and watching for their lieutenant to return. All of their humans were huddled under blankets and watched over by a lone Pearl. That Pearl turns towards the east. “Uh, guys, I think we better go, the sun is starting to rise.”

The rest of the Pearls turn to look at the sun, and sigh dejectedly. They start to pack up their things until a Pearl turns to look back down the mountain. “Guys, guys! Lieutenant Pearl is back!” The Pearls all turn to see their leader staggering up the hill. They all run down to help her. When they reach the top of the hill, the Lieutenant falls on her butt.

“Lieutenant! Are you alright!” A Pearl asks.

The Lieutenant looks up at her Pearls and smiles. “Yes, I just…need a breather.”

A Pearl moves to the front of the crowd. “Lieutenant Pearl! I…I couldn’t get a human because all the humans ran away by then, so I could carry you back if you don’t mind.”

Pearl smiles. “Yes, that would be nice.”


	6. Amethyst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter 5 of KRMK! Today we will have an interview with a new friend!
> 
> As usual, thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate it. If you like the chapter, give a comment or a kudo! I'll see you next week!

“So…what now?”

Pearl and Rose Quartz sit facing each other on the table in Rose’s study. Hovering in front of them is the bubble containing the Amethyst that Pearl bubbled while at the White Diamond Kingdom.

“Well, I don’t know about this one.” Rose says wearily. “Amethyst’s are huge gems; I don’t know if we would be able to get anything out of her.”

Pearl smirks. “Oh, this one? You don’t need to worry about that, this one barely comes up to my shoulders.”

 Rose’s eyes widen. “Why would White Diamond want an Amethyst like that in her army? I’m sure you’ve seen many other Amethyst’s and Jasper’s there.”

Pearl shrugs. “This Amethyst came out with the humans, so I don’t know if they even realized that she _was_ a gem.”

Rose gasps. “Humans? You fought humans?”

Pearl nods. “But don’t worry, none of them were hurt.”

Rose smiles. “Thank goodness.” Rose turns to look at the bubbled gem. “Well, I guess we have no choice then.”

Pearl stands up. “Okay, I’ll pop her. Stand back.”

Rose takes a few steps back as Pearl pops the bubble. The gem falls to the table and starts to reform after a few seconds. The formed Amethyst turns her head. As soon as she sees Pearl, her eyes widen and she plunges her sword towards her.

“Oh no you don’t!” Pearl says as she clasps her hands around the sword. She pulls it out of Amethyst’s hand, causing her to fall towards Pearl. Pearl quickly turns her around and holds her hands behind her back.

“Hey! Let go of me!” Amethyst says as she struggles to get out of Pearl’s hold.

Rose walks over to Pearl. Pearl turns to Rose. “Okay, Rose, she’s all yours.”

“Hello Amethyst.” Rose says calmly.

Amethyst cocks an eyebrow. “Who are-wait, you’re Pink Diamond, aren’t you?

Rose smiles. “Ah, I see that White Diamond has told her people about me.”

Amethyst scoffs. “Nothing nice, that’s for sure.”

“I see.” Rose turns and pulls up a chair before sitting down in it.

Rose clasps her hands together. “We have brought you to the Pink Diamond Kingdom to free you from White Diamonds tyranny.”

Amethyst starts to laugh. “Free me? FREE ME? All that happened was that I got transferred from one shoddy Diamond to another!”

Pearls eyes narrow as she grips Amethyst’s arms tighter. “Don’t say that about Pink Diamond.”

Rose’s eyes narrow in concern. “Pearl, Calm down. Please don’t scare our guest.”

Amethyst lets out a guffaw. “Guest? How can I be your guest when you have me tied up like I broke the law?”

Rose sighs. “You’re right.” Rose turns to Pearl. “Pearl, please let go of our guest.”

Pearl turns to Rose. “Are…you sure?”

Rose nods and Pearl sighs before letting go. Amethyst pulls her arms away from Pearl and shoots a nasty look towards her direction.

She turns to Rose. “Okay, Pink Diamond. What the hell do you want with me?”

Rose gestures to an open chair and smiles. “Please, sit down. I would like to ask you about White Diamond…”


	7. The Interrogation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, welcome to Chapter 6! Today we will find out more about Amethyst, and of the culture of the White Diamond Kingdom.
> 
> As usual, thank you for reading! If you like it, please send a kudo, or write a comment! I'll see you next week!

Pearl smirks at the scene in front of her. Rose was a master of many things, but one thing that Pearl really loved was how Rose was a master at ‘charming’ others. It didn’t matter how high-strung or rebellious they were. Just give her time, and she would break them.

And break Amethyst she did.

Pearl watches as Rose puts a hand on Amethyst’s shoulder to try and comfort her. Amethyst, well, she’s a mess. Her hands are over her face, trying her best to muffle the sobs and sniffles.

Amethyst pounds her fist on the table. “It’s just…me! A gem! I had to pretend to be a human! T-They wouldn’t understand that someone like me, that, an overcooked runt could possibly be a gem!”

Rose sighs. “That sounds terrible. You had to hide, be something else just so that they wouldn’t shatter you.”

Amethyst puts her head down. “T-that’s right. One day, I found a nice bunch of humans, told ‘em that I was kicked out of my house and needed a place to stay. And you know what? They let me! Even though they lived in the slums without a single penny to their name, they let me stay! And so I stayed there. I helped them gather food and they let me live with them. It was a nice setup, until…” Amethyst pauses, her face dark.

Rose looks at Amethyst with concern. “Until what, Amethyst? You can tell me.”

“Until THEY came.” Amethyst clenches her hands into fists. “I guess the White Diamond army started to lose too many of their members, so they started to recruit humans into their army. Humans? Can you believe it?”

Pearl nods. “I saw it myself.”

Amethyst jumps and turns towards Pearl. “Oh, I forgot YOU were still here.”

Rose smiles. “Don’t worry about her. So what happened? Did they take you to become a member of the army?”

Amethyst sighs. “Not at first. They would go to other houses, houses with more capable humans. But…I guess those guys weren’t enough. So one night, they broke into our house. They said that they were taking Emma!”

Rose’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “Emma? Who is Emma?”

“Emma, she-oh, she was the real breadwinner of the house! She was the one that got up early in the morning to work, coming home long after the sun went down. After her parents became bedridden, she was the one to step up to the plate and take care of the family! That’s why, when they said that they were going to take her I just-I just couldn’t let them do it.”

“So what did you do?” Rose asks carefully.

“Well, I told them to take me instead. Since I’m a gem, I can reform, so it shouldn’t be too hard, right? I know I did help them with their daily chores and stuff, but at least I won’t die from a stab wound!” Amethyst sighs. “I haven’t seen them since.”

Rose nods. “I see. So how was it, living in the army?”

“Well, it was…something.” Amethyst starts to drum her fingers on the table. “I…I’ve never seen so many humans die. I know many of them just felt like running away, but they knew that if they did, they would die from the hands of White Diamond.”

Amethyst leans back on her chair. “I kept myself separated from the humans, knowing that I would most likely see the majority of them die in front of me. I did try to fight, and I somehow managed to live with only a few reformations.”

Rose’s eyes widen. “Did no one ask you about the reformations?”

Amethyst shakes her head. “No one asked because no one was alive long enough to notice.”

Rose nods her head. “I see. Well, you need not to worry now, you are safe here. I think that you would be a good fit for the patrol division. I could set you up there, if you’d like.”

Amethyst looks up at Rose’s graceful, caring face. She didn’t see a single hint of animosity. She smiles back. “That would be nice.”


	8. The Patrol Division

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! It's April 1st, which means that chapter 8 of KRMK is now up (No jokes, it really is up!) March went by fast, didn't it? Anyways, this weeks chapter will focus on Amethyst and her introduction to the Patrol Division of the Pink Diamond Kingdom.
> 
> As usual, thank you so much for reading! Leave a comment or kudo, if you wish! I'll see you next week!

Amethyst follows Pearl through the labyrinth of the castle. She walks a few steps behind the Pearl, wary of her true intentions. Amethyst sighs.

Pearl hears her and smirks as she looks back at her. “You know, I think the Pearl’s in the patrol division will really like seeing you?”

Amethyst frowns. “Really now?”

Pearl nods. “The Patrol Division has always been Pearls, so I think they would love to see someone new for once.”

Amethyst sighs. “So I’m just some shiny new toy to them?”

Pearl smirks. “Possibly.”

Pearl gets to the door and opens it. Suddenly, all of the Pearls turn towards the door.

“Attention everyone! We have a new recruit!” Pearl shoves Amethyst in front of her.

“Hey wait-“Amethyst says

“We had captured an Amethyst from the White Diamond base, and she has decided to be in the patrol division with you.” Pearl sneers at Amethyst. “Please treat her…nicely.”

“Yes ma’am!” The Pearls say in union.

Pearl claps her hands. “That’s all for now.”

Pearl leaves the room, leaving Amethyst with all of the Pearls. She can’t believe that vile, good-for-nothing son of a-

“Ohhh, I’ve never seen an Amethyst this small before!” A Pearl says, pulling Amethyst out of her thoughts.

Amethyst looks up to see a whole gang of Pearls looking down at her. Unlike Lieutenant Pearl, these Pearls seem more…docile. Their hair was styled in the usual Pearl fashion, unlike Lieutenant Pearl, who had a very erratic look to her hair.

“I’m not small! I’m just...I was formed weirdly.” Amethyst says quietly.

The Pearls nod at each other. “That makes sense!” A Pearl says. “Of course Pink Diamond would save her from the White Diamond castle!”

“Yes! Yes! An obvious move from the great Pink Diamond!” Another Pearl says.

Another Pearl moves to the front. “Well, I’m sure you’re very tired from this long day. Would you like to rest?”

Amethyst smiles awkwardly. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”

The Pearl claps her hand together. “Great! We have a few rooms in the back, you can take any one of them! I’ll lead you there!”

* * *

 

The Pearls all move together with Amethyst to lead her to the room, happily chatting along the way. When they finally get there, the lead Pearl opens the door to reveal a modestly sized room. They quickly say goodbye and leave, the sound of their chatter fading slowly as they walk down the corridor.

Amethyst chuckles. “I swear, it’s like they’re all one person!” She shakes her head and closes the door. She turns around and plops herself on the bed. She sighs. She really regrets telling Pink Diamond about all of that stuff, she really does. But she just has this…pull, this charm that makes you feel comforted and secure. Makes you feel that nothing that you can say will be wrong.

But now that she’s out of the situation, alone in a room, she has time to think about the situation better. She knows that this Diamond is no better than any of the other Diamonds. Sure, she might seem like the nicest on the outside, but she has given herself the name Diamond – the name of power. And the fact that she hides it behind a façade of caring, well…that might make her the worst of all.

Amethyst sighs as she slowly pulls herself out of her depression-induced trance. She looks out the window, down to the countless villages below. White Diamond, Pink Diamond, it didn’t matter where she was; the villages all looked the same. Run down, shabby, and frail. The only difference was that the castle shined with a pink gleam instead of white.

Amethyst pulls herself away from the window; looking out of it has somehow made her more depressed than she was before. She lies back on the bed.

“Well…” she says to no one in particular “Nothin’ better to do than to sleep.”

* * *

 

A loud knock jolts her out of her slumber. She gets up, and groggily walks to the door as the knocking gets louder. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” She says.

She opens the door, and lo and behold, it’s Lieutenant Pearl.

Amethyst frowns. “What do _you_ want?”

Pearl frowns. “I’m going to pretend that I didn’t hear that. There has been a…change of plans. You will be moving to a more…suitable division.”

Amethyst sighs. “Yeah, yeah, ok whatever, these Pearls are weird anyways.”

Pearl’s eyebrows raise, but she keeps her comment to herself.

Amethyst leaves the room and Pearl slams it shut in anger. “Let’s just go to your new division.”

* * *

 

Pearl opens the door to reveal a dark dingy area. A few individuals look up and Amethyst instantly recognizes that they are all humans.

Amethyst turns to Pearl. “What the hell is this?” she says angrily.

Pearl smirks. “Sorry, you’re stuck with the humans. But, you should be used to it, right?”

 

 


	9. The Lower Barracks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to Chapter 9! Today we will be learning of the humans housed in the Lower Barracks.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading and commenting! I really appreciate it. Let me know what you think of the chapter and I'll see you next week!

The door slams shut, causing the shelves in the room to shake.

Amethyst sighs. “I can’t believe I trusted that good for nothing Diamond!” she mutters under her breath.

“Don’t worry, we all did too.” A voice says, causing Amethyst to look up.

Standing in front of her were a handful of humans, all dressed in peasant clothes.

Amethyst cocks an eyebrow. “They don’t have anything nicer for you to wear?”

They look at each other and smile. “They do, but they would never give it to us.” The man in the front of the group says.

“Of course. Of course.” Amethyst says. “So…how did you end up being poor in the richest area of the Kingdom?”

The man crosses his arms. “Well, it depends. Some of us are here for petty theft, others were brought here as prisoners of war.”

“I came here because I didn’t clean the Diamonds picture correctly!” A voice in the back says.

“Wait, you didn’t…what?” Amethyst says, confused.

The man in the front shakes his head. “It’s a long story. But I don’t know your name yet.”

“It’s Amethyst.” Amethyst says, extending her hand out towards the man.

The man takes it and shakes her hand. “Doug. And this…” he says, gesturing at the woman next to him, “Is my wife Priyanka.”

Amethyst released Doug’s hand and shakes Priyanka’s name. “Nice to meet you. Cool name.”

Priyanka smiles. “Thank you. Nice to meet you too.”

Amethyst looks around. “So, what do you guys do here? It’s not the nicest place, but you don’t exactly live in jail cells.”

Priyanka chuckles. “We might as well be. Every morning, we get orders to do random things. Some days it’s sewing flags, other days it’s creating clothes for the castle gems.”

Amethyst gasps. “The gems here wear clothing? Can’t they just shapeshift?”

Priyanka shrugs. “Probably, but our Kingdom likes to make it’s citizens believe that the only gems in the Kingdom are Pink Diamond and all of the Pearls. So it must be easier to just wear the clothes than to remain shapeshifted all the time.”

Amethyst cocks an eyebrow. “That is the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Priyanka chuckles. “That’s just the beginning, really. Anyways, I’m surprised that they’ve brought a gem down here, you must have really made Pink Diamond angry.”

Amethyst shakes her head. “I doubt it. It’s probably because I’m defective. I stayed in the ground for too long, so I’m smaller than most other Amethysts.” Amethyst sighs. “I guess I’m so defective that I’m not even considered to be a gem in their eyes.”

“Well, I guess that makes the both of us.” A voice says.

Amethyst turns towards the voice to see a tall, bespectacled woman.

The woman chuckles before removing her gloves, revealing two gems embedded into her palm. “Well, three of us actually.”


	10. Garnet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, welcome to Chapter 9 of KRMK! Today we will learn more about one of the members of the Lower Barracks!
> 
> Thank you so much for taking the time to read this chapter! I hope you are enjoying the story so far! I'll see you next week!

Amethyst gasps. “You’re…a fusion!”

Garnet smiles. “Exactly.”

Amethyst cocks an eyebrow. “But…why are you fused right now? You guys are on break now, right?”

Garnet puts her gloves back on. “I am fused on break and while working. I am fused in the happiest times and in the darkest times. I’ve been fused for so long that I don’t remember when I last unfused.”

Amethyst eyes widen in surprise. “This is, well, this is…different.”

 “Yes. Yes it is.” Garnet looks at Amethyst’s awestruck expression. “You’re probably wondering why a gem like me is locked up with humans, correct?”

Amethyst chuckles. “Took the words right ‘outta my mouth.”

Garnet nods and gestures to a nearby chair. “Please, sit down. This story is quite lengthy.”

A long time ago, long before the Kingdoms were created, there was no such thing as Garnet. Instead, there was Ruby and Sapphire. Ruby was just a foot soldier, just another faceless Ruby tasked to protect Blue Diamond and her court. Sapphire on the other hand, oh, she was special. She was rare. In the entire Blue Diamond court, there was only one, and she had one of the most important jobs of all. You see, Sapphire’s greatest ability was her ability to see the future. She knew of enemy plans long before the enemies themselves created them. So when a small pact of rouge gems started rebelling, she was the one tasked with alerting Blue Diamond of dangers so that she had enough time to prepare for them.

One day, Sapphire had a vision that the leader of the rebellion, Rose Quartz herself, would come and ambush the Blue Diamond court, and destroy the physical forms of seven gems before being captured. As she continued to look further in the future, she saw no future for the rebellion. It ended here. She told Blue Diamond of her vision, completely confident in her abilities. No one could change the future that she had predicted. No one ever had. So why should this time be any different?

But this time was different. For tasked with the job of protecting Sapphire were three Rubies. It was hard to distinguish between them, for they really acted like the same gem. Hard-headed and stubborn. But that was how Rubies always were. Nothing was different. Nothing should have been different. But they were.

As Sapphire watched the two Rubies get destroyed in front of her eyes, she smiled. Things were going according to plan. She was sad that she wouldn’t get to see the rebels getting captured, but such was fate. Sometimes, you just have to have faith that things will work out the way that they are supposed to.

But fate had other plans for her. As the lone Ruby watched the rebel Pearl approach Sapphire, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Sapphires were unusually fast; why wasn’t she running away? But then she realized why. Sapphire had accepted her fate. Sapphire accepted that it was her fate to be destroyed by this Pearl. But Ruby, oh, Ruby would not accept fate. Could not accept fate.

To this day, Garnet did not understand how Ruby was able to move fast enough to protect Sapphire from the blade of the Rebel Pearl. One can only guess. But as Ruby and Sapphire opened their eyes and looked at the crowd of shocked faces, they knew something was wrong. It didn’t take long for them to realize that they were no longer two separate gems, they were now one. And thus Garnet was born, only to be completely separated seconds later.

The distraction from Garnet’s fusion completely sidetracked all of the court gems. They had momentarily forgotten what their job was. But it was enough time. Enough time for the two rebel gems to make their escape. As the court gems start to yell at Ruby and Sapphire and call them names, Blue Diamond appears in the mist. Even though her eyes were always kept veiled, Sapphire immediately knew what she was feeling. Ruby had not only fused with a member of the court, but had also caused the rebels to escape.

But Sapphire wasn’t listening to any of this. She was confused. Her visions were NEVER wrong. What happened? What was the reason for the drastic change in events? The more she tried to think about it, the less she could think. Suddenly, she grabbed Ruby and ran. She didn’t know where she was going, she didn’t know what she was doing, all she knew is that she-they had to run.

And run they did. They landed on Earth, just as confused as ever. They had fused with each other, and even though Ruby had fused with other Rubies, it was still a new experience for the both of them. Throughout the next decades, they worked it out. They fused together many, many times, always trying to make the fusion the best that they could. Then eventually, they just stayed that way.

It was around that time that Garnet had stumbled upon the Pink Diamond Kingdom. Before that, she just wandered around Earth, never finding a single human in sight. But here, humans were plentiful! But, happy humans, on the other hand, not. As she walked through the alleyways, she passed humans, all of whom bore expressions of tiredness and fatigue. She hated it. She didn’t know why they were unhappy, all she knew is that she wanted to make them smile, even if for just a few minutes.

That’s when she started showing electrical shows in the courtyard. The humans were fascinated by it. She hid her gems, so all of the humans did not realize that she was a gem. They could not believe it; how was this human creating thunder from her own hand?

But not everyone liked it. Some feared it. They didn’t understand it, so they felt that it was wrong, even evil. Eventually, word began to go around that the electric human was a witch. Eventually, a random gem guard overheard the conversation and reported it to Pink Diamond. She immediately had her guards capture Garnet and take her to the Kingdom for questioning.

* * *

 

“Oh man, did you fall for Pink Diamonds charms?” Amethyst says.

The sun had begun to set, casting dark shadows around the room. Many of the humans had retired to the sleeping quarters, leaving Amethyst and Garnet in the main room to continue the story.

Garnet leans back on her chair and smirks. “Nope, I was completely immune to them.

Amethyst gasps. “Immune? To her? Wow, you really are something!”

Garnet smiles. “I know. Unfortunately, my immunity made Pink Diamond mad. REALLY mad. So mad that she started yelling at me. Even that Pearl was shocked to see it.”

Amethyst chuckles. “I woulda loved to see the look on that Pearl’s face.”

“After that, they threw me in here, saying that I should ‘stay with the dogs.” Garnet says. She shrugs. “Honestly, it’s better for me here since no one will pick on me for being a fusion. Though I would like to walk around the castle, it is a nice place.”

Amethyst’s eyes widen. “Wait, you can’t leave this room?”

Garnet shakes her head. “There are two huge gems standing guard outside, so we’re stuck in here.”

Amethyst sighs. “I guess this really is just like the White Diamond Kingdom.”

Garnet leans forward in her chair. “White Diamond Kingdom? That must be an interesting place.”

Amethyst chuckles. “Oh, I could talk all day about it!”

Garnet smiles. “I would love to hear it.”

Amethyst grins. “All right, all right, where should I begin…”


	11. The Articles of the Great Pink Diamond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Welcome to the tenth chapter of KRMK! Can you believe that there are 11 chapters already? This week we will read about the laws that govern the Pink Diamond Kingdom.
> 
> Thank you for your reading, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! See you next week!

Purpose: In order to protect the people from harm, to uplift the people, and to instruct the people, the articles of the **Great Pink Diamond** has been created.

Article 0: The Pink Diamond Clause

  * All humans must address Pink Diamond as 'My Diamond' 
    * When talking to others, the **Great Pink Diamond** should be called ‘Pink Diamond’
  * All humans must have the Pink Diamond-approved portrait of Pink Diamond in a highly-visible area of their homes 
    * All portraits must be regularly cleaned - dusty portraits results in imprisonment



_The Great Kingdom of Pink Diamond was founded by Pink Diamond, a Rose Quartz that vowed to protect the humans of Earth. As such, she should be addressed by her proper name. In conversation, all humans MUST use her proper name, Pink Diamond. Usage of any other name will result in punishment._

_The **Great Pink Diamond** is our great protector, so we must ensure that we pay our due respects to her every day. To help facilitate this process, every household will be issued a Pink Diamond-approved portrait of the **Great Pink Diamond** herself. This portrait must be presented in a highly-visible area of the home. The **Great Pink Diamond** suggests the living room, but any area that receives a significant amount of foot traffic will be deemed acceptable. Furthermore, as this is a portrait of the Great Diamond, it must be treated with respect equal to the respect that one gives to the **Great Pink Diamond**. Therefore, all portraits must be regularly cleaned. A list of Pink Diamond-approved cleaning products will be provided with your portrait of the **Great Pink Diamond**. Kingdom gems will regularly visit homes to check on the condition of the portrait. Portraits that are dusty, or otherwise deemed to be unacceptably cleaned will result in imprisonment of the inhabitants of the house in question._

Article 1: The Night Curfew Clause

  * Humans are not allowed outside of their homes after dark



_We live in a great Kingdom. The air is fresh, and food is plentiful. However, the other Kingdoms do not. War rages on, food is scarce, and murder is a plenty. Many thieves and murderers seek out the Pink Diamond Kingdom because of its riches and abundance of resources. Therefore, The Night Curfew Clause was created to protect the humans from these monsters of the night. All humans must be indoors at sundown. During the night, Castle Gems will patrol the area to ensure that the safety of the Kingdom is upheld._

Article 2: Careers

  * All humans must register with the Pink Diamond Career pool at age 14 
    * They may choose to start to work at any time after registration, but they must start working by the time they are 18
  * If a human is deemed unable to continue a job (due to illness, poor job performance, or other reasons) they may be removed at any time 
    * A suitable human will be chosen to take over the job at that time
  * They may change jobs at will, but only by swapping 
    * AKA A human at Job A has to switch with a human at Job B – ie, they will have each other’s jobs



_When the **Great Pink Diamond** lived on Homeworld, she was always told what she was and what she could do. Ridiculous! No one should live like that. Therefore, The **Great Pink Diamond** has created this clause to give humans the freedom to pick the job that they want to have, when they want to have it. In order to facilitate this process, the Great Pink Diamond Career pool has been created. All humans must register for the pool at age 14, and may choose to take a job at that time. However, they must choose a job by the time they turn 18. All humans 18 and over must be working at a job. Exceptions to this clause will be taken by a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, if one wishes to take another job, they are able to switch with another human that wishes to have their job. All applicable paperwork will be located in the Department of Human Relations, subsection Great Pink Diamond Career Pool._

Article 3: Pagan Gods

  * All human-created Gods (AKA Pagan Gods) are illegal 
    * Any human found worshipping any God, regardless of intention, results in imprisonment



 

_All citizens of the Pink Diamond Kingdom are fortunate to live in a Kingdom free from death and disease. Other Kingdoms are not as lucky. This would not be possible without the careful eye of Pink Diamond. As such, we should give all of our thanks and blessings to the **Great Pink Diamond**. However, this is not possible if humans continue to worship Pagan Gods. As such, as we move forward, Pagan Gods will no longer be tolerated. There will be efforts to remove Pagan God imagery from public areas. Furthermore, any human found worshipping any God, regardless of intention, will result in imprisonment._

 

Article 4: Government Work

  * Government work is now available for humans!
  * If said individual has a civilian job, that position will be taken over by an individual with the most experience in the field



_Many humans have expressed wishes to work in the Kingdom walls. With its clean walls and expensive tapestry, it is no wonder why the requests have been so great! Therefore, a great number of human Government Work positions have been opened. The **Great Pink Diamond** has asked that all positions be filled as quickly as possible. Please visit the Department of Human Relations to request for a position. Jobs will be given first to individuals without a current job, and then everyone else. Individuals that already have a job will be given the job only if an individual can be chosen to take over their spot. Furthermore, once all of the jobs are filled, they should remain filled. Thus, the Great Pink Diamond court is legally able to obtain any human in the Kingdom and use them to fill in for any human deemed unable to continue to work._

Article 5: Crime

  * The following crimes are illegal, any human found committing any of the following acts will be imprisoned, regardless of severity or intent 
    * Theft
    * Murder
    * Rape
    * Spread of misinformation
  * Humans are encouraged to report offenses



_The **Great Pink Diamond** wants to protect her people. And sometimes, that means that she must protect her citizens from other humans. We have received a great slew of humans recently, and we are not certain of the brainwashing that they might have received from the other Kingdoms. As such, the Crime clause has been created. Any human found committing any of the above offenses will be imprisoned, regardless of severity or intent. Furthermore, humans are encouraged to report and any all crimes to the Department of Human Relations. All reports will remain confidential._

The preceding Articles have been reviewed and approved by the **Great Pink Diamond** on the twenty-first of the Second month of Year 389.

Any and all revisions must follow the approval process as stated in Chapter 7, Clause 3 of the Bylaws of the Great Pink Diamond Court.


	12. The Good Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to Chapter 12 of KRMK! Today we will be talking to the talented humans that paint the portraits seen all around the Pink Diamond castle!
> 
> Thank you for everyone for reading, I really appreciate it! Please leave a kudo or a comment, if you like! I'll see you next week!

Hello hello! You’re right on time, please come in! Oh, but do take off your shoes, wouldn’t want to ruin the pristine white flooring! Alright, please sit down. Do you like the place? Much better than living in those dank living quarters outside of the Kingdom walls, am I right?

Anyways, let me do a quick introduction on who we are and what we do. All of the humans that are housed here are a part of the art division. Unlike other government jobs, we live in the lap of luxury! Sure, there are others that are housed in the castle grounds, but they have it nowhere as good as we do! We have a huge living space, and freedom to create and inspire! Mind you, we can’t actually leave this place and many of us were forcibly taken from our homes, but we absolutely love it here! All of the money that we make from our jobs goes directly back to our family, so that’s not that bad of a deal, is it not?

Oh? What was that? What kind of art do we do? Well, have you noticed all of the paintings hanging on the castle walls? All of those were from our division. Everyone has their own inspiration, whether it may be nature, buildings or gems, so we may choose to paint whatever we wish. Also, have you seen the advertisements around the Kingdom? We make those too! Those people that make them, man, they really know how to inspire and motivate people. I really love ‘em.

Anyways, you also may have seen a few, completely fabulous and awe-inspiring portraits of the **Great Pink Diamond** on your way here. Now these were painted by very special people. I mentioned earlier that we can paint whatever fits our fancy, but the majority of the people here are not allowed to paint or draw the likeliness of the **Great Pink Diamond**. Instead, a few special individuals are hand-picked by the **Great Pink Diamond** herself to paint her likeliness! It is a very difficult job; I must tell you. There are many, MANY rules in place as to what you may paint and how you may paint it.

Obviously, she must be painted in the best light, but there are other rules as well. Her eyes must be closed in all paintings, unless she is fighting a gem. And if she is fighting a gem, it must be completely clear that she has the upper hand. She must never be covered in shadow, and must always have a spotlight on her. She must always be the main point of the painting. Things like that. Also, any and all imperfections are completely and utterly unacceptable. A missed flick of the wrist. A misshapen eye. These are things that mean death for the artist. If one submits a painting like this, they are immediately kicked out of the castle and given a civilian job. And that, that would be hell for people like us. Those civilian jobs are just so monotonous and boring! We could never survive out there anymore. But, we are the best of the best, I should know, I am one of them. Yes, that’s right! I am one of the few painters in my generation that was chosen to paint the likeliness of Pink Diamond! It’s a difficult job, but wow, is it great. We are really the gods of the art division. The other painters look up to us for guidance, for we are the ones that really, really have it good. And unlike the other humans out there, the humans that must suffer and trudge their way through life, we have it the best, we are the best. And with the way I’ve been painting lately, there is no way that it will change-

Oh! Hello Lieutenant Pearl! Nice day out isn’t it? Oh, that’s my painting of the **Great Pink Diamond** , isn’t it great? Wait, what do you mean? Oh…yes, that arm is a little smaller than the other ones, I guess, but it’s behind her, so it should be ok, right? It’s too small? No wait, where are you taking me, NO IT’S PERFECT, NO DON’T TAKE ME TO THE **GREAT PINK DIAMOND** I DID NOTHING WRONG!


	13. Vidalia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, welcome to May and another chapter of KRMK! Today we will be going back to the Lower Barracks to hear the thoughts of one of the humans living there.
> 
> Thank you for reading my story! Let me know what you think of the chapter and i'll see you next week!
> 
> **EDIT: I'm so sorry! It seems that I put the wrong chapter up last week! The correct chapter is now up, and the next chapter will be uploaded as planned.

Amethyst stares out of the window. It’s a beautiful night, the sky is clear. She can see all the way to the great mountains. She knows that beyond those mountains is the White Diamond Kingdom, and there, Emma and her family still stayed…hopefully.

A loud noise jolts Amethyst out of her thoughts. She looks down to see Lieutenant Pearl. Eventually, other Pearl’s appear, dragging out a sophisticated, fancy-pants human out of the Kingdom, unceremoniously plopping him in the grass. As they shut the door, the human runs to the door, and begins wildly knocking on it, trying in vain to get them to let him back in.

Amethyst chuckles. “He’s not gonna last a day out there.” She says to no one in particular.

“I agree.” Someone says. Amethyst turns to see a blonde, long haired teenager standing next to her.

The teenager extends her hand towards Amethyst. “The names Vidalia.”

Amethyst takes the hand and shakes it. “Amethyst. You know, I’ve been here for a couple days already, but I don’t think I’ve seen you around.”

Vidalia smirks. “Yeah, well, I’ve been busy doing one thing or another, so I haven’t been…around. Anyways, I heard good things about you from the folks here, so I thought I should come and say hi.”

Amethyst chuckles. “Seriously though, I’ve never seen so many humans happy to see me since Emma…and the kids.” Amethyst sighs.

Vidalia puts a hand on Amethyst’s shoulder. “It’s okay, we’ll figure it out.”

Amethyst scoffs. “Figure it out? Figure it out?!? No one can leave from this place, no one can better themselves, this whole place is a prison! How the hell are we gonna figure it out!?!”

Vidalia smiles, crossing her arms. “Sure, it’s in the rules that we can’t leave, but no one said that we can’t break the rules.”

Amethyst’s eyes widen. She smiles. “Now THAT’S what I like to hear. What ‘ya thinkin’, girl?”

Vidalia walks over to the wall and leans on it. “Well, every so often, a few of us wander out of this place to spy on the other gems, get information on them.” Vidalia turns to look at Amethyst. “That’s where I was for the past couple of days, by the way.”

Amethyst nods. “I see. I like it, I like it. So, what did you learn?”

Vidalia pushes herself off of the wall and begins to pace. “Well, the thing that kept coming up again and again was that all of the other gems believe that Lieutenant Pearl is the strongest gem in this entire Kingdom.”

Amethyst scoffs. “That skinny little thing?”

Vidalia shrugs. “I overheard a few guards say that they saw her take out a room full of Jasper’s by herself.”

Amethyst’s eyes widen. “Woah.”

Vidalia notices Amethyst’s expression and smiles. “Don’t take it too seriously, we don’t know the circumstances behind the event.”

Amethyst nods. “True, true. Anything else?”

Vidalia nods. “You probably already know this, but it seems that that Pearl in particular is very, very close to Pink Diamond.”

Amethyst scoffs. “I noticed.”

Vidalia ignores Amethyst’s comment and continues. “Since she is so close with Pink Diamond, that must definitely mean that she knows Pink Diamond inside and out. Dare I say…”

Vidalia goes up to Amethyst. “She knows the Rose Quartz behind Pink Diamond.” She whispers.

Amethyst cocks an eyebrow. “Okay, so she knows Pink Diamond’s deepest, darkest secrets. Great. What good does that do for us?”

Vidalia grins, a sparkle forming in her eyes. “Everything! If we can get that Pearl on our side, then freedom will be at our hands! We will know what it takes to break Pink Diamond down and get her accept humans as one of them! We will-

Amethyst puts her hands up. “Wait wait wait wait, back it up. I get what you’re saying. That if Pearl is on our side, then we have the secret to freedom. But how the HELL are we going to get Pearl on our side! She is so sickly devoted to Pink Diamond, there is no way that it’s gonna work!”

Vidalia slumps down. “And that’s what we’re working on now. The folks here try to brainstorm ideas while me and a few others hunt the castle for clues.”

Amethyst chuckles. “So much for a plan.” She says playfully.

Vidalia looks at Amethyst and smiles. “Hey, I got that far, give me some credit, will ‘ya?”

Amethyst nods. “All right, all right. But you should go to sleep, it’s late.”

Vidalia yawns and stretches her arms above her head. “Ugh, I guess you’re right. I gotta get my sleep schedule fixed before I’m back on the sewing machines again.”

Vidalia grabs her bags before turning back to Amethyst. “The folks we’re right, you are a good one. Good night Amethyst.”

Amethyst waves at Vidalia as she turns the corner to the sleeping quarters.

Amethyst sighs and looks out of the window. ‘Freedom…’ she says quietly.


	14. The Thief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: The previous chapter was a repost of the chapter before that, but it is now fixed! Please read that chapter before reading this one!
> 
> Hello everyone, welcome to Chapter 13 of KRMK! Today we will be learning about one of the criminals that plague Pink Diamond's Kingdom.
> 
> Hey you! You are awesome! Thank you for reading this chapter! I really appreciate it. Let me know what you think of the chapter and i'll see you next week!

Pearl looks over the list of recent attacks. “Blue Diamond has been quiet lately, we should focus our espionage on her. I suspect that she’s going to attack in the near future.”

Rose nods. “It seems so. We should let our agents know to be wary-“

Quick knocking causes Rose to cut her thoughts short. Pearl stands up and opens the door. As soon as she does so, three Pearls come in, dragging a struggling human behind them.

Pearl cocks an eyebrow. “Why are you bringing him here? Just throw him in jail, like the others!”

A Pearl turns her head towards Lieutenant Pearl. “We’re sorry Pink Diamond! Lieutenant Pearl! We’ve done that, at least 5 times! But this human! He just keeps stealing and stealing and stealing!”

“I see” Rose says, standing up. She approaches the Pearl’s and they move to the side, allowing Rose to see the human clearly. He has long, billowy brown hair, just like any other human here but his eyes…she couldn’t describe them. Even though they were currently furrowed in anger, they were still very, very beautiful. She hummed in excitement. A handsome one, excellent.

“Please, have him stand up.” Rose says to the Pearls and they obey, dragging Greg to his feet. She grabs a chair and places it in front of him and sits in it. When sitting, she is at eye-level with the human.

“Please, tell me your name human.” Rose says carefully.

“It’s Greg.” Greg says simply.

Rose nods and sighs. “Greg, I am saddened at these turn of events. I give my life for humans. I nearly get shattered, and yet, you still continue to steal?”

Rose looks down at her feet. When she looks back at Greg, a soft expression appears on her face. “However, you are a human, and humans make mistakes.”

Greg cocks an eyebrow. “So what? Are you gonna put me in jail again?”

Rose shakes her head. “Although the usual protocol is to lock up thieves in the jail, it is clear that that has not done anything for you.”

Suddenly, a smirk appears on Rose’s face. “Also, you are awfully cute…I think I have better plans for you.

* * *

 

Honestly, Greg doesn’t know who to thank for the impromptu fortune that was given to him. As the Pearl guards began to drag him away from the jail and to Pink Diamond, he began to panic. He was only a human, what could a giant like Pink Diamond do to punish him?

Oh, lots of things. She could start to cut off all of his limbs one by one and leave him to bleed to death. She could throw him into the moat and have the crocs eat him alive. Oh, Greg imagined over a thousand scenarios as they dragged him towards Pink Diamond.

That’s why he is so flabbergasted, even a month later, at his current position. Sure, all he does is stand around and look pretty and wear whatever clothes Pink Diamond orders him to, but I mean, it’s pretty nice clothes. Nicer than anything he’s ever had before. And sure, his feet do get sore from standing all day, but it’s better than getting eaten alive, right?

There are sometimes that he must leave Pink Diamond’s side. Most of the time it’s when Pink Diamond has to talk to Pearl. Although he wishes that he could stay and listen to their nefarious plans, he knows that he would never be allowed to. And besides, he has his own fancy room to stay in during those times! And it’s not like the homes back home. No, this has EVERYTHING. A nice bed, a fully stocked fridge with only the best food, and a nice view.

But recently, he has noticed that the meetings that Rose has with the Lieutenant Pearl has been getting shorter and shorter. Rose usually personally fetches him after the meetings (I know, right?), and in the beginning, it seemed that the meetings were about an hour long. Now, it doesn’t even seem that the meetings ever pass 30 minutes anymore. And on top of that, Greg has noticed that Pearl’s disposition has changed. At first, Pearl seemed to ignore Greg, and would be happy to see Rose and discuss things. Now, it seems that Pearl always makes an effort to snarl at Greg. Her sentences are short and succinct. ‘Rose, news has come up! We must talk immediately!’ has turned into ‘Rose, there’s news.’ Greg doesn’t say anything about the change, but deep within him he knows that the reason for Pearl’s drastic change of behavior is simple: She’s jealous of him.


	15. The Rage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, welcome to Chapter 14 of KRMK! Today we will catch up with some gossip going around the Kingdom!
> 
> Thank you for reading, I really appreciate you all! Let me know what you think of the chapter and I will see you next week!

Recently, the Kingdom Pearls have been in a state of panic; their entire daily routine skewed. The reason? Lieutenant Pearl.  It started slowly, at first. A few heavy-handed door slams here and there, but nothing severe. Eventually, that anger and frustration was channeled into other places, mainly, the other Pearls. Usually, Pearl was kind and cordial to her subordinates, but now, it didn’t really take much for her to blow her head off at them. Eventually, it got to the point where Lieutenant Pearl would yell at them to get back to work, even though they were on their Kingdom-approved break.

This new behavior completely confused the Pearl’s. Why the sudden change of personality? Eventually, conspiracy theories began to pop up. Some believed that Lieutenant Pearl was being demoted (a ridiculous idea). Others believed that some other person is stealing Rose’s affections from Pearl (an even more ridiculous idea). Still others put their heads together to make the theory that the majority of the Pearl’s believed. The theory is this: Lieutenant Pearl is being sent on a long-term reconnaissance mission to another Kingdom. Lieutenant Pearl isn’t good at expressing her emotions so she ends up lashing out instead of telling them that she’ll miss them all. Unfortunately, Lieutenant Pearl herself arrived on the scene and started yelling at them to get back to work, so they were not able to figure out exactly what kind of reconnaissance mission our angry little Pearl will be going on. But how was Pink Diamond dealing with all of this? Did she even know what was going on? Well, I think…oh, OH CRAP THERE’S PEARL! You know what, I’ll see you later, I gotta-

Lieutenant Pearl turns the corner and sees a bespectacled Pearl. Her eyes narrow. “What are you doing here! Stop talking to the wall and get back to work!”

The bespectacled Pearl bows deeply and whips around, running back to her dorm. Pearl sighs. “These Pearls, I swear, UGH DAMMIT!” She punches the wall.

She continues to walk down the hallway, muttering under her breath. When she reaches Rose’s door, she slams it open to see Rose feeding Greg grapes. Her face contorts in disgust.

“Rose, we have to talk.” Pearl says stiffly.

Rose nods. She turns to Greg. “Ok dear, you know the drill.”

Greg stands up and winks at Rose. “Got it, call me back when you’re done.”

Greg leaves, closing the door behind him. Pearl walks towards Rose and sits in the chair near her. She plops a scroll onto the table and opens it.

“So how was your-“ Rose says before Pearl cuts her off.

“This is all of the intel that we received from our forces in the Blue Diamond Kingdom.” Pearl says, ignoring Rose’s comment. “I looked through it and it seems that Blue Diamond is employing a new tactic.”

Rose frowns. “I see.”

Pearl continues on. “Propaganda has been going up in the Kingdom portraying Blue Diamond as a god. Some signs even suggest to sacrifice animals to their god Blue Diamond. Our forces believe that this is all to increase their military.”

Pearl puts that scroll to the side and pulls out another scroll, showing data about the Pink Diamond military. “As of right now, we should be fine, but we should prepare for an ambush, just in case.”

Rose nods. “Great. Please let our troops know. Oh and…Pearl. I’ve noticed that you’ve been a little irritable. What’s wrong? Please tell me. You know you can trust me.”

Pearl huffs. “You won’t understand.” Pearl stands up. “If that is all you need to say about military tactics, then I’ll take my leave.”

Rose sighs. “Yes, that is all.”

Pearl exits the room, slamming the door behind her.


	16. A Casual Stroll

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, welcome to Chapter 15 of KRMK! Today we will go on a casual stroll with the great Pink Diamond.
> 
> Hey guys! Thanks for continuing to follow my story! I can't believe that we are already 15 chapters in! Let me know what you think of the chapter and I will see you next week!

It was highly unusual to see Pink Diamond strolling around the Kingdom. The great Diamond usually stays in her own quarters, creating preparations for a new ambush or creating new laws for the poor, poor humans of her Kingdom. That’s why all the castle gems nearly break their necks doing a double take. Pink Diamond? Walking casually through the castle? Well, this is new.

As Rose Quartz walks past a flock of Pearls, they all jump and quickly bow down to her. As she passes them, they raise up from their bow and look at each other in confusion.

“What’s Pink Diamond doing walking on the castle grounds in the middle of the day?” A Pearl says, raising an eyebrow.

Another Pearl hits the first Pearl, eyes sparkling in the sunlight. “I knew it! Our theory was correct! I bet you that Pink Diamond is walking around the castle because she’s sad that Pearl’s going on that reconnaissance mission!”

Suddenly, all of the rest of the Pearls start to squawk at the first Pearl in protest.

“No! You’re wrong! She’s trying to think of a new war strategy!”

“No you’re wrong! She’s totes confused as to why Pearl is acting so aggressively towards her!”

“No you’re all wrong! It’s something else that I haven’t thought about yet, but nevertheless, it will be the correct answer!”

A bespectacled Pearl watches as the other Pearls push and shove each other, each thinking that their theory is the correct theory. She sighs, looking at the reader.

_If only they knew my theory, then they would see the light…_

* * *

 

Rose Quartz didn’t know when or why she started taking a stroll through the Kingdom. One moment she was in her study, and the next she was strolling through the corridors of her vast castle. She mused that the catalyst was probably Pearl.

_Pearl…_

What had happened to her to make her so suddenly hostile to her? She hadn’t really changed her way of acting towards her, all of the recent laws were unconditionally approved by Pearl, and all intel stated that the other Diamonds weren’t planning on ambushing the Pink Diamond castle any time in the near future. So what was the answer?

Unless…

No, it couldn’t be. Why would Pearl be jealous over a human? He was just a plaything; something pretty to look at to make her monotonous work more fulfilling. Although, she did spend all of her time with him, but then again, he leaves when Pearl comes along, so it’s not like Pearl has to see him much…

It took a while for Rose Quartz to realize where she was. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t realize that she stopped walking. It was then that she realized that she had somehow managed to waltz her way all the way to the far end of the Kingdom, where all of the human labor workers lived. Standing in front of the door was 2 Bismuths, too busy shaking in their boots to notice that Rose was lost in her own world.

Rose looks at them, unease and apprehension clear on their faces. “Please open the door.” She said thoughtlessly.

The two Bismuths look at each other in confusion, but do as they are asked. As the door opens, sounds of fighting escape the room. The two Bismuths turn to run into the room, but Rose puts her arm in front of them, and continues to walk in.

When she walks in, she is greeted to a very…interesting sight. In front of her, 2 humans…no! a human and a gem fight! Well, fight isn’t the best word, for as Rose watches them, she realizes that they are busy sparring with each other.

After a few seconds, Vidalia happens to look up as Amethyst catches her breath. “Not too shabby if I do-“ she gasps, “Pink Diamond! I-I didn’t!”

Rose smiles. “No, no, it’s okay, please continue.”

Amethyst and Vidalia look at each other uneasily before continuing. Their spar lasts for a few more minutes, enough time for the rest of the humans to realize that Pink Diamond just so happens to be sitting in their common room watching Amethyst and Vidalia spar. Soon enough, all of the humans start peer out into the common room in shock.

Amethyst hands a water bottle for Vidalia. “That was a good sparring match, for a human.”

Vidalia shrugs, taking the water bottle. “I try.”

Vidalia drinks in silence. Eventually, Amethyst turns around to see the Diamond watching her intently.

Amethyst raises an eyebrow. “I’m sorry… _my diamond_ , but what are you doing here?”

Rose chuckles quietly. “You know, I don’t quite know myself, but I’m very glad that unforeseen forces have brought you here because my, my Amethyst. I didn’t know you could fight like that.”

Rose stretches her hand to Amethyst. “Come, I have better places for you.”


	17. The Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, and welcome to chapter 16 of KRMK! Today we will read a letter crafted by the great Pink Diamond.
> 
> Hey guys! Happy June! I hope your day is going well! Thank you for reading my fanfic! Let me know what you think of the chapter! See you next week!

Our Lieutenant Pearl sits in her room. The door is closed. Usually, this would be an unusual occurrence; Lieutenant Pearl always had her door open, always ready to help a Pearl in need. But, alas, things are different now.

Lieutenant Pearl sits at her desk, looking over facts and figures of the other Kingdoms. Well, trying to, at least. Dark thoughts keep swimming into her head. Why does _he_ have to stay with her? Why does _he_ get special treatment? Eventually, the thoughts overwhelmed her. She balls her hand into fists, crushing her quill in it. Sighing, she slams the crushed quill onto the desk before standing up.

This wasn’t working, she thought. She tried to throw herself at her work to make her forget about her problems with Rose, but even that wasn’t working. But what _could_ she do? It’s not like she could just pirouette into Rose’s office and tell her that Greg was a good-for-nothing son of a-

A knock on the door interrupts her dark thoughts. She turns towards the door. She raises an eyebrow. Who the hell is bothering her now? She strides to the door and opens it to reveal a petty Pearl standing on the other side of it. Her eyes are cast to the ground, her body shaking in fear.

Lieutenant Pearl crosses her arms. “What is it now?” she says irritably.

“Lieutenant Pearl, I’m sorry for disturbing you, b-but you got a letter from Pink Diamond.” The Pearl slowly raises the letter to Lieutenant Pearl. “S-she asked me to give it to you.”

Lieutenant Pearl raises an eyebrow. “So now we aren’t even on talking terms? Fine, whatever.” She snatches the letter out of the Pearl’s hand.  “Thank you, you may leave.”

The Pearl bows deeply as Lieutenant Pearl slams the door shut. The common Pearl quickly runs to the end of the hallway, where other Pearl’s sat and watched. When she reaches them, they all pat her on the back for a job well done.

“She’s gonna break a door one day.” A Pearl says in the background.

* * *

 

Lieutenant Pearl drags her chair out and plops herself down. She throws the letter onto the table. After a few seconds of internal conflict, she opens it. She’ll have to read it eventually, might as well just get this over with. She takes the letter out of the envelope and unfolds it. Rose’s neat curly handwriting fills the page. Pearl sighs and starts to read.

_My Dearest Pearl_

_I really should be telling you this face-to-face, but alas, I cannot get myself to do so. There has been significant tension between us, and no matter how much I try, I cannot figure out the reason behind it. So I decided to pen this to you to give you the necessary space._

_The other day, I walked around the castle grounds, thinking about…many things. My walk eventually lead me to the farther edges of the castle, specifically where we keep our human slave workers. After some deep consideration, I decided to venture inside to see how things were going._

_As the door opened, my eyes widened at the scene in front of me. A human and that Amethyst that I interrogated were busy sparring with each other! Usually, I would not grant that type of behavior, but their fight mesmerized me. The way that they moved and dodge was like a dance of swords! Eventually, their fight ended, and when it did, I had made my decision._

_Thus, this leads to the real reason that I pen this letter. The Amethyst is currently housed in the common gem area of the castle. Pearl, I have seen you fight countless times, you are the greatest fighter that I know. That’s why I ask if you could train this Amethyst. I see vast potential in her, and I feel that your skills are necessary in order to unlock this potential. When you are ready, she will be ready._

_-Rose_


	18. Gem Dormitory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, and welcome to Chapter 18 of KRMK! Today we will learn about the other gems that live in the Pink Diamond castle.
> 
> Hey all! Thank you for supporting my work, you guys are the best! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think about it! See you next week!

“Your training will start bright and early tomorrow morning. You have more than enough time to get yourself settled in your new place.” Rose says.

Amethyst follows Amethyst down a long hallway. Amethyst was amazed at how different the opposite ends of the hallway were. As they entered the hallway, the rooms that lined it were dank and old, and all protected by gem guards. However, as they got to the opposite side of the hallway, she noticed that the rooms were much nicer. There were less guards, and some of the doors were open. Humans were busy chatting away with some of the guards. Well, that is, until they noticed that Pink Diamond was strolling by. As soon as they noticed, guards and humans alike whipped around and saluted to their Diamond.

At the very end of the hallway was a giant crystal door. On it the words ‘Gem Dormitory – No humans allowed.’ Rose walks to the door and places her hand on the door. It beeps, and the door slowly opens.

“I hope this place is much more comfortable than your other residence.” Rose says.

Amethyst’s jaw drops. The common room was an area filled with couches that surrounded a central fireplace. Gems sat lazily around them, talking about who knows what. Spiral staircases led to the second floor, which led to the dorms themselves.

Amethyst looks at Rose Quartz with awe. “This is…way better than anywhere I’ve lived.”

Rose smiles. “I’m glad.”

Rose then walks into the room and claps her hands. Instantly, every gem in the dorm turned around and quickly saluted.

“Gems, I am proud to announce that we have a new gem in our family.” Rose gestures to Amethyst. “Amethyst has shown great skill in sword fighting, so much so that I have decided that Lieutenant Pearl will be her primary teacher.”

All the gems start whispering to each other at once. Amethyst crosses her arms smugly. _They must all think I’m a badass._

Rose Quartz claps her hands again and the room is bathed in silence once again. “She will be starting her training tomorrow, so please help her feel at home.”

“Yes sir!” all the gems say in unison, saluting.

“Very good. That will be all for now.” Rose says before leaving, shutting the door behind her.

As soon as the door closes, all of the gems start to surround Amethyst. A nearby green gem pushes her way to the front. “You must be the new owner of room 405!” The gem sticks her hand out. “My name is Peridot.”

Amethyst shakes her hand. “Nice to meet ya, Peridot!”

Peridot waves her away. “Yes, yes, lets get you situ-“

A large hulking gem grabs Peridot, causing her to wave her arms in the air in surprise. “H-hey, Citrine! Let me down!”

Citrine smiles sneakily. “Don’t worry dude, we’re gonna get Amethyst to her room, no rush.” Jasper looks at Amethyst. “So runt, you really good at sword fighting?”

Amethyst shrugs. “I guess. Pink Diamond watched me fight and-“

Citrine gasps. “Pink Diamond watched your fight? Pink Diamond herself watched you fight?”

Amethyst raises an eyebrow in confusion. “Yes? Is that…special?”

Citrine nods her head. “Dude! It’s usually Lieutenant Pearl that tells her about gifted gems! You were chosen by Pink Diamond herself…although…I don’t know if sparring with Pearl right now would be a good idea.”

Amethyst furrows her brows in confusion. “And why would that be?”

Citrine huffs and throws all of Amethyst’s things onto the 2nd floor passageway. Peridot rolls her eyes. “You know, you could’ve just carried it up there.” Peridot turns to look at Amethyst.

“Anyways, a lot of the gems have noticed that Lieutenant Pearl is been particularly…irritable lately. A lot of the Pearl’s have their theories on why she’s acting so differently, but, we think it has to do with that human that’s been hanging around in Pink Diamond’s study.”

Amethyst raises an eyebrow. “Pink Diamond has a human with her?”

Citrine nods. “That’s what some of the Pearl guards said. They had brought in a thief to Pink Diamond, and usually, they just get thrown into the jail, but she said that he was ‘awfully cute’ and ordered the Pearl’s to leave him in her room.

Amethyst’s eyes widen. “Yeah, that would piss Lieutenant Pearl off.”

Peridot shrugs. “I don’t think it should be a problem. Pink Diamond herself has recommended you to her, so I’m sure Lieutenant Pearl would be more than happy to teach you, regardless of whatever is bothering her.”

Citrine rolls her eyes. “Peridot, not everyone is an emotionless can.” Citrine turns to look at Amethyst. “You should keep yourself in check, Lieutenant Pearl isn’t someone to cross.”

Amethyst gulps, quickly nodding.

Peridot sighs in frustration. “All right, all right fine. Let’s just get her settled in before you scare her some more.”

Citrine smiles. “All right! So…where is 403 again?

* * *

 

The rest of the night went by as smoothly as possible. A few gems visited her to get to see the new “raising star”, but besides that, she was mostly left alone to get ready for the day ahead. During her stay in the Kingdom, she had managed to grab a few trinkets here and there, but nothing that would help her spar.

“Well, I guess there’s nothing else to except to sleep.” She says as she plops herself on her bed, which, she quickly realized, was probably made with geese feathers or something. Damn, they really don’t skimp out on anything.

Amethyst was out cold within a few minutes

* * *

 

A loud knock on her door woke Amethyst up. She looked outside. The moon was still out.

_Who could it be?_ She thought before getting up.

She walked to the door and opened it only to see that Lieutenant Pearl was standing on the other side.

Lieutenant Pearl smirks when she sees drowsy Amethyst. “Come on soldier, your training starts now.”


	19. The Breaking Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, and welcome to Chapter 18 of KRMK! Today we watch Lieutenant Pearl bestow her great knowledge on Amethyst.
> 
> Hello, hello! Thank you, thank you! I really appreciate all your support. Let me know what you think of this chapter! See you next week!

Amethyst raises an eyebrow. “Dude, what do you mean? Pink Diamond said-“

“I don’t care what Pink Diamond said. WE are going to train right now.” Pearl says, crossing her arms.

Amethyst glares at her. “Ugh, fine, whatever you say, _lieutenant_.”

Amethyst turns around just in time to miss Pearl’s deathly glare. She picks up a few of her belongings and puts it in a bag.

“Okay, Ms. Grump, lets go.” Amethyst says as she closes her dormitory door.

Pearl follows her stride. “You really should know your place, Amethyst, do you know who I am? I can kick your ass any second-“

Amethyst quickly tuned out Pearl’s rant, instead choosing to focus on her surroundings. It really did seem that the other gems were scared, if not _terrified_ of Lieutenant Pearl. That human really was pissing off Lieutenant Pearl.

“Amethyst? Are you even listening to me?” Pearl said, stopping to look directly at the purple gem.

Amethyst rolls her eyes. “Yeah, yeah I got it, you’re so much better than me, you could kick my ass, got it.”

“Ugh, whatever.” Pearl turns around and continues to walk. “We will be fighting in a much…grander place than you were. We have the latest weapon technology there, but since…Pink Diamond saw potential in your sword skills, we will be working on sword techniques.”

Pearl turns the corner and walks up to a gigantic double door. She opens it and Amethyst follows her in. The training center was really located right outside of the castle. It was a huge field covered with a diamond awning so that the elements would not be able to affect training. The area was broken up into smaller sparring areas. In the middle of it all was a wagon filled with various types of weaponry, and a tall, grey gem stood near the cart.

Many gems were busy sparring, but when Pearl slammed the door shut, they all turned around and froze with fear. The two gems closest to Pearl and Amethyst quickly gathered their things, leaving Pearl and Amethyst with an area to spar in.

“Excellent. We have no wait time.” Pearl gestures to the weapons cart. “Go get your weapons from the Bismuth over there, and return when you are ready.”

Amethyst puts her belongings down on a nearby chair and walks over to the weapons cart. As she approaches the cart, the Bismuth turns towards her and smiles. “Hello there! I’ve neva seen ya before, ya new here?”

Amethyst smiles. “Yeah! I’m Amethyst, I was…kidnapped from White Diamond’s Kingdom.”

Bismuth nods in acknowledgement. “Ah, yes, that does happen. Sorry about that. Anyways, who ya sparring wit today?”

Amethyst gestures at Pearl. “Old grumps here, that’s who.”

Bismuth’s eyes widen. “Oh hun, we betta get you prepared to spar wit the devil! Here, let me give ya a few things…”

Bismuth hands Amethyst a sword, shield and a chest plate. “You’ve gotta chest gem, so I gave ya this reinforced chest plate. Lieutenant Pearl isn’t someone ta be playin’ around wit, especially since she’s been in a sour mood lately.”

Amethyst nods. “So I’ve heard.”

Bismuth smiles. “Go! Do well, and don’t worry…” Bismuth lowers her voice. “I’ll be watching just in case she gets too rough on ‘ya.”

Amethyst smiles. “Thanks.”

Amethyst walks back to the sparring area. Pearl had taken off her pink cape and was currently practicing sword stances by herself. However, she stops when she sees Amethyst.

She puts her sword down and smirks at Amethyst. “So, you ready?”

Amethyst puts her sword in position and sighs. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Pearl puts her left hand behind her back and puts her sword in position in front of her. “So Amethyst, I’m sure you are aware why we are here, correct?”

Amethyst raises an eyebrow. “Yes? Pink Diamond wanted me to learn-“

Pearl lunges at Amethyst, and Amethyst has just enough time to lift her shield up to block the blow. Pearl jumps onto Amethyst’s shield and kicks herself back to her side of the arena. The force knocks Amethyst back onto the ground. Pearl lands on her feet and whips around to look at Amethyst. Her eyes were narrowed in anger.

“Exactly! Pink Diamond, or Rose, as I am so privileged to be able to call her, somehow went all the way down to the depths of the Kingdom, happened to open the door, and found YOU sparring with a human?!?!?” Pearl watches as Amethyst slowly gets up.

Amethyst furrows her brow in confusion. “Yeah, I mean, she was totally fine with it, she watched us for a while, actually.”

Pearl darts to Amethyst and clashes swords with her. Pearl’s eyes were mere inches away; it seemed as if all the anger in her lit up a flame in her eyes. Amethyst gulps.

 “SHE WATCHED you?!?! YOU, an insignificant Amethyst, could hold even a miniscule bit of Rose's time? She sat there, in the dank, dark quarters JUST TO WATCH YOU?!?!”

Pearl slashes across the shield, and kicks it, sending Amethyst flying again. This time, however, Amethyst lands on her feet.

Pearl slowly walks towards Amethyst, sword pointed directly at Amethyst’s face.

“YOU are NOTHING!” Pearl yells. “YOU don't know ANYTHING! Why is she so interested in the trash of the world!?”

At that moment, Amethyst understood. Pearl really wasn’t mad at Amethyst, she was merely taking out her anger about the human on Amethyst. Amethyst smirks.

“Oh, I know what this is about.” Amethyst says. “You’re not really mad at ME, are you?”

Pearl raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Amethyst smirks. “Oh, you know what I mean. You want Pink Diamond’s affection all to yourself, don’t you? You can't take the idea that a "pathetic human" would take Pink Diamond away from you, can you?”

Pearl gasps, the fire in her eyes growing exponentially stronger. “Silence! You know nothing!”

Pearl runs to Amethyst and sends quick slashes to her chest. By the time Amethyst is able to react, Pearl has already jumped away. Amethyst looks down to see a deep slash in her chest armor.

“Oh geez, I'm glad I got that reinforced chest plate, you really woulda got me there-“

Amethyst looks up to see Pearl standing dangerously close to her. Pearl’s eyes, on fire with the anger that she felt towards the gem in front of her. She takes quick and shallow breaths, the anger making it hard for her to focus on her own breathing.

Pearl jabs a finger on Amethyst’s forehead. “I AM going to get you. I can't have your poisonous thinking get in the way.” Pearl raises her sword “I must dispose-“

Pearl tries to swing her sword down, but something stops her. She turns around to see Bismuth holding the blade.

Pearl’s eyes narrow. “Let GO of my sword, Bismuth.”

Bismuth tutts. “Uh-uh, no ma'am, you know we're not allowed to shatter gems…” Bismuth lowers her head. “That’s the way of Pink Diamond, after all.”

Pearl lets go of her sword. “You know what, FINE!” She looks at Amethyst. “I hope you die from incompetence, you fool!”

Pearl stomps off, and leaves the training area, slamming the door in her wake. That is when Amethyst realizes that the entire training area is dead silent. She looks around, and it seems that many of the gems have stopped sparring and were watching the ‘spar’ between Pearl and Amethyst. A hand goes to Amethyst’s shoulder and she looks up.

Bismuth smiles. “You okay there, girl?”

Amethyst smiles. “Yes…wait. I’m not in trouble, am I?”

Bismuth chuckles. “No, no, of course not. I for one am glad that happened. Lieutenant Pearl needed a slap in the face.”

Amethyst laughs but then the reality of the situation sink in on her. She slouches. “Ah man, I still need someone to teach me though.”

Bismuth’s eyes glitter. “Well hun, I may not be as good of a swordfighta as Pear, but I think I could teach ‘ya a few tricks.”


	20. Pearl Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, welcome to Chapter 20 of KRMK! Today we spend a little time looking into the mind of the great Lieutenant Pearl.
> 
> Hey guys! I hope your day is going great! Thank you so SO much for reading and commenting, I really appreciate it! Please let me know what you think of this chapter! See you next week! Author, out 8)

Pearl slams the door of the training center and walks away. While walking, she covers her face with her hands. She’s not afraid that she’ll bump into anything; she knows the castle too well, and no one would _dare_ bump into her.

_You want Pink Diamond’s affection all to yourself, don’t you?_

Pearl grips her hair in frustration. The nerve of her to say that! Amethyst should be bowing down for the opportunity to be able to spar with her! And this is how she is payed back? Ridiculous.  Ridiculous, ridiculous, ridiculous, Ridicu-

_You know it’s true Pearl._

Pearl gasps. The voice that she heard was of her own, and yet, it sounded _so real_ as if…as if she was standing right in front of herself…

Pearl pulls her hands away from her face and is shocked to see that she was right. Standing in front of her was a Pearl. But not just any Pearl. _It was herself._

But, it wasn’t the strong, Lieutenant Pearl that stood in front of her. Instead, it was the Pearl from back in homeworld, complete with the purple and blue leotard. Pearl took a step backward. She looks to her left, and right. No one else was there with her, just her and…well, her.

Her reflection looks down at the floor. Pearl watches it anxiously, waiting for it to make a move. Finally, she begins to chuckle.

_You…we were strong. We beat the other diamonds and established a colony here on Earth. We prevented them from hurting humans and we had finally got our freedom._

Her reflection looks up, revealing that her iris’ were actually mirrors. Pearl herself was reflected in those cold eyes.

_But did we really find our freedom?_

Her reflections iris’ clouded over and the silhouette of Rose Quartz replaced it. Pearl’s eyes widen in horror.

_We thought that Rose Quartz was going to give us our freedom. In some ways, she has. We are no longer chained to the wills of the Diamonds, but in a way, you have chained yourself to Rose herself._

Pearl takes a step towards her reflection. “N-no!” she yells. “You are a liar!”

Her reflection shakes her head. _Deep down, you know it to be true…_

_Think about it. You are no longer free. You are now chained to the practice of being a knight. Fighting to the death for your savior Rose Quartz. You cannot go out and see the world, to see the beauty that you helped save._

“W-wha-“ Pearl says, but she is stopped when her reflection puts her hand up.

_And yet, you are still jealous of this human. He is taking away what you had all these years, sure. But use this opportunity to realize this harsh fact: Rose Quartz is horribly flawed._

Pearl gasps. “Rose is NOT flawed and you know it!”

Her reflection shakes her head again. _You may not see it now, but the humans that you worked so hard to safe are living terrible lives outside of the castle. They starve, they fight for food, they die without living their lives to the fullest. And the reason that this happens is because of Rose. Rose has created so many laws to keep them at bay while she fights the other diamonds. Look into your heart, Pearl. Rose is no longer the kind spirit that she once was. She is now a dictator greedy for power over the diamonds, humans, and most importantly, you._

“No, NO, NO!” Pearl yells. “You are a LIER! YOU don’t know NOTHING! Why should I listen to you- you-you-“

Pearl crumples to the ground, unable to process the confusion in her head. Her reflection slowly walks over to Pearl and crouches down.

_Remember my words, Pearl. You need some fresh air. Go outside of the castle. See the unbiased world out there. Only then will you be able to understand your conflicted feelings._

Pearl looks up to say something to her reflection, but is shocked to see not her reflection, but a gem guard standing over her. She looks around, and realizes that multiple gems stare at her in shock.

* * *

 

5:00AM. That was the usual time that Lieutenant Pearl came to the Pearl’s dorm and gave her daily briefing. It was currently 5:31AM.

The Pearl’s sat in the common room, quietly chatting with each other. The news about Lieutenant Pearl’s meltdown spread quickly, and in less than a day, everyone in the castle knew about. Well…everyone except for Pink Diamond.

“I’m serious, she really was yelling at herself! But, it seemed like she was having a conversation with herself.” A wide-eyed Pearl said.

A Pearl next to her raises an eyebrow in confusion. “Having a conversation with herself? What do you mean?”

“Well…” the wide-eyed Pearl said, “She would yell at the wall, stop for a few seconds, and then yell again, so it was like she was listening to someone talk to her.”

A few of the Pearl’s in her group gasp. “Wow” Another Pearl says. “She’s really gone bonkers.”

The wide-eyed Pearl nods. “However-“ The wide-eyed Pearl says before being cut off by a clapping sound.

All the Pearl’s turn to look at the source of the clapping sound to see Peridot standing at the Pearl dorm doorway.

“Hello…Pearl’s.” Peridot says awkwardly. “As I am the head of the gem dorms, I must make this announcement to you all.”

She clears her throat. “As you may have heard, Lieutenant Pearl has had an…episode yesterday. She is currently resting in her living quarters. I have been alerted that she gives you all a daily briefing at 5AM. However, due to her…condition, I will be taking over until further notice.”

The Pearl’s start to whisper at each other, but Peridot clears her throat again, and the room is bathed in silence.

“So first things first, the briefing about affairs in the Yellow Diamond Kingdom…”


	21. Bismuth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, welcome to Chapter 21 of KRMK! Today we spend some time watching Bismuth and Amethyst have a sparring match.
> 
> Can you believe that we are at Chapter 21 already? I know I can't. Anyways, thank you so much for your kudos and comments, I really appreciate it~ Please let me know what you think of this chapter and I will see you next week!
> 
> -Ashley (Ta3peas)

“Ha-HA! Ya really are a good swordfighter after all!”

Amethyst jumps back from Bismuth, and smirks and her. “Heh, thanks.” She says.

“However, lemme fix some things that I noticed.” Bismuth approaches Amethyst and bends down.

“I noticed that ya grip your sword pretty tightly.” Bismuth chuckles. “I can understand bein’ real scared when sparring wit’ that Pearl, but you gotta keep a light hand or else your gonna hurt yourself.”

Amethyst nods. “Okay, got it.

* * *

 

It’s been hours since Bismuth and Amethyst began to spar. At some point, many of the patrons of the training center began to watch them. Bismuth was a great swordfighter, only second to Lieutenant Pearl. However, many of the gems have never really seen Bismuth in action. Sure, they’ve seen her spar with other gems with the castle, but no one could bring out Bismuth’s real ability. At least…not until Amethyst showed up.

Eventually, word got around that the Amethyst from White Diamonds Kingdom was a really good swordfighter. Like REALLY good. Word got out so fast that it seemed that everyone in the castle knew about Amethyst’s skills. Eventually, even Lieutenant Pearl found out.

And she wasn’t happy.

* * *

 

Bismuth runs towards Amethyst and tries to slash Amethyst in the belly, but she easily dodges it with a backflip. She lands on her feet and whips around, slashing at Bismuth’s belly. Bismuth dodges it, but not well enough. The sword is able to slash through the armor that Bismuth wears.

Bismuth takes a step back. “Whoo baby! You woulda got me there!”

Amethyst smiles. “Okay barely though!”

Bismuth grins. “Oh babe, I know ya trying to be polite in front of all these gems, but ya don’t need to be?”

Amethyst furrows her eyebrow. “All of these-?”

Amethyst turns around, and gasps when she sees all the gems watching her. Sensing Amethyst’s apprehension, Bismuth walks to her side.

“Don’t worry, hun! They seem ta really like you.” She turns to look at the crowd. “Is that right, babes?”

The crowd starts to cheer. Bismuth looks back at Amethyst. “I knew you were somethin’ special, hun.”

Amethyst smiles. “Thanks.” She says shyly.

* * *

 

When Pearl returns to the training center, she sees that the door is wide open. Humph. So much for taking out her anger on the door. However, there was something at the door that she could take her anger out on. It seemed that the training center was packed. So packed that the door could not close. She started pushing her way through as soon as she got to the entrance. However, the gems gave her amble space once they realized who she was. Hmph. So much for that.

She eventually made her way to the front of the crowd, and that’s when she began to hear Bismuth and Amethyst. It seems that a Q&A was now in full swing.

“How did you learn how to fight like that, Amethyst?” A gem in the crowd asks enthusiastically.

“Well, there were times that I had to defend my family in the White Diamond Kingdom, so I just…picked up things here and there.”

The crowd starts to mutter.

A gem next to Pearl raises her hand. “Amethyst, was the White Diamond Kingdom-hey!”

Pearl shoves the gem to the side, finally getting to the front of the line. The room is bathed in an uncomfortable silence when they all see who it is.

Pearl points a finger at Bismuth in accusation. “What are you DOING?”

Bismuth shrugs. “Well, since you decided ta leave the training sesh early, I took it upon myself to teach her a few things. Turns out that I don’t really hafta teach her much, and…well, all da other gems noticed too.”

Bismuth pats Amethyst back. “You should give her anotha chance, Lieutenant Pearl.”

Pearl rolls her eyes. “Whatever.” Pearl storms off.

Bismuth shakes her head. “I don’t know what’s wrong wit that gem…Anyways, it’s been nice ta talk to all ‘yall, but I think Amethyst wants some rest, is that right, girl?”

Amethyst nods. “Yeah, I’m pooped.”

Bismuth claps her hand. “Alright, you heard the gem, time to give her some space! Go on, get!”


	22. Goodbye...for now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, welcome to Chapter 2 of KRMK! Today we will read a letter penned by Lieutenant Pearl.
> 
> Hello all! Are you enjoying the story so far? I hope you are! Thank you so much for all of your kudos and comments! Let me know what you think about it and I will see you next week!

_To the Gems of Pink Diamond’s castle,_

_The last couple of weeks have been…difficult for me. I cannot say exactly why, but I will tell you that my very way of living, of thinking of the world has been changed. It is hard to be forced into a position of change when you are so content on living the same way that you have been for years._

_First, I must apologize to you all. Not just to the Pearls, but to all the gems in the castle. I am your lieutenant. I am supposed to be one that everyone else looks to for guidance, and yet I have failed you all. I have let one small inconvenience severely impair my performance and my behavior in these past couple of weeks.  My actions have shamed me so much that I cannot bear to show my face at the castle at this time._

_This leads me to the reason that I have penned this letter. I will be taking a…vacation of sorts. I need some time with my thoughts, to understand why I am here and what I am doing. Please do not look for me. I will return when I am ready._

_In my absence, I am leaving Peridot to take care of the daily duties in the Pearl dormitories. As for my daily briefing with Pink Diamond…I will let her decide what to do with that._

_I hope you all will go through this transition process smoothly, and I promise that I will come back soon, wiser and stronger than ever._

_-Lieutenant Pearl, signing off at 0309_

* * *

 

Peridot sighs. “Great, more work for me to do.”

Citrine’s eyes widen. “Wait, she left this morning?!? I was fixing the guard door this morning! How could I have missed her!”

Peridot shrugs. “If Lieutenant Pearl doesn’t want to be seen, then she won’t be seen.”

Peridot sits down on the couch. “Now, Citrine, I only have an hour. You need to help me think of a speech to say to the Pearls.”

Citrine chuckles. “Yeah, I better help you. Those Pearls are so sensitive! If you wrote it, you would probably hurt their feelings more.”

Peridot scoffs. “I know.”

* * *

 

_Earlier that morning…_

Pearl watches a Citrine fix the main door. She smirks. Well, it’s not like she was going to go through that door anyways. She hops up to a nearby window and looks down. She sees a few gems walking around, patrolling the area. She frowns.

‘When I get back, I really need to fix their patrolling schedule.’ She thinks. ‘Getting past them is much too easy right now.’

She waits until a Pearl turns the corner and pulls her hood over her head before jumping over the moat. She quickly darts to the other side, climbs up the castle wall and effortlessly gets over without a single gem noticing her. She looks to the right, then the left. Not a soul in sight.

Pearl darts off into the night.

* * *

 

“Lieutenant Pearl is GONE!?!?!?” A Pearl in the crowd says, face covered with tears.

Peridot sighs. “I know you are all sad about this, but it’s Lieutenant Pearl’s decision, and we must respect that.”

“But where am I going to get my daily mood booster from? Lieutenant Pearl always comes to my room in the morning and gives me a pep talk!” another Pearl says, voice shaking with sadness.

Peridot looks to her side anxiously “Well…we um-“

“What about storytime? Lieutenant Pearl always sat down with us and told us stories about her great battles! What are we gonna do now?“ A Pearl says, cutting Peridot off.

Peridot takes a step back. “Uhhh, well you see-“ Peridot says, but a hand on her shoulder causes her to turn around. It’s Citrine.

Citrine smiles. “Leave it to me, Peridot.” Peridot nods and takes a step back.

Citrine takes a few steps forward and puts her hands in the air. All the Pearl’s stop squabbling and the room is bathed in silence, minus a few sniffles here and there.

“Pearls…I know you look up to Lieutenant Pearl. We all do. She is the brave warrior that has given us the freedom that we now have. But, you heard what Lieutenant Pearl said. She is having her own personal battle. You have all seen her behavior in the past few weeks. Deep down, I know you all understand that Lieutenant Pearl needs some time off.”

Citrine pauses and looks around the room. A few mumbles and nods here and there. Excellent.

“We will try to make the transition as smooth as possible, but…well, we’ve really never had to do this before. Also, we don’t know how long Lieutenant Pearl will be gone. But you must be strong. For Lieutenant Pearl.”

“For Lieutenant Pearl!” A Pearl in the crowd yells. Suddenly, all the Pearls start yelling and screaming in excitement. Citrine looks back at Peridot, smiling.

“See?” she says, “I knew it was a good idea for me to come.”

Peridot smiles. “Thanks.” She says.


	23. Pearl Alone Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **IMPORTANT**: This chapter contains swearing (the f word) and mentions of rape. Please do not read this chapter if you are sensitive to these topics.
> 
> Hello everyone, welcome to Chapter 23 of KRMK! Today we will join Lieutenant Pearl as she explores the lands surrounding the Pink Diamond castle.
> 
> As mentioned above, we will be getting a little bit more into the areas of the Pink Diamond Kingdom that are...not as nice as the castle itself, so there will be more mature themes in this chapter. Please message me if you are unable to read this chapter and I will try to create a PG-13 version for this chapter.
> 
> Thank you for supporting my writing endeavors! I would not have gotten here if it wasn't for your support! Please let me know what you think of this chapter, and I will see you next week!

After she left the castle, Pearl had managed to find an inn after an hour of walking. At first, she had been apprehensive. Would she have to lower her cloak and reveal herself to them? What would happen then? But when had entered the inn, she noticed that many of the other patrons had their faces shrouded in the shadow of a cloak as well.

She sighed in relief. _One less thing for me to worry about._

She registered for her room and was given a key. 801 was stamped on it. She half-expected that she would be led to her room, but then she remembered.

_I’m in the wilderness now. No more gems bowing down to my every command._

She walked up the stairs, and room 801 was to her left. She eyed the door curiously. _Why not name this room 101? Why 801?_ She sighed. _These humans make no damn sense._

She opened the door and was greeted with, well…a very shabby room. She sighed. _Well, I guess it’s time to put myself in the human’s shoes._

She put her backpack down on the bed and looked outside of the window. For centuries, she would look outside the window and she the Kingdom of Pink Diamond. Now, all she saw was the castle of Pink Diamond. She didn’t know if it was the lack of elevation, or what, but the castle just looked…so big. It towered over everything else, even some of the nearby mountains. She could imagine that some of the humans of the Pink Diamond Kingdom could be a little intimidated by it.

She takes her cloak off and tosses it onto the bed. She walks over to the mirror.

_Damn_ she thought _I really do look like hell_

Her usual, perfectly sculpted fireball hair was in ruins. Bits and pieces of tuff were sticking out here and there. Dark bags sat under her eyes, and her eyes…well, they were bloodshot.

She walks back to the window, hoping to see a nicer picture than one of her own self. That’s when she noticed that the sun was starting to rise. She sighed.

_Well, I guess that means I’ll be shut in here for a while._ She thought. _It’s easier to be recognized during the day. And besides…if I want to REALLY see the evils of this place, then I need only wait until the sun sets again._

She walks away from the window and plops herself on the bed.

‘Well’ she says, ‘I guess there is nothing else for me to do but to sleep…’

She turns onto her side. ‘Now, if I can just remember how to do it…’

* * *

 

_12 hours later…_

‘Rose no!’ she said, sitting up on the bed. She took deep breaths as she looked to her left, and then to her right. She facepalmed.

_That’s right, I’m in the wilderness all by myself._ She laid back on the bed and looked out the window. The sun would set anytime now.

_Ugh, now I don’t want to get up…_

* * *

 

Pearl eventually did get herself out of bed, got her things settled, put on her cloak and headed out into the night. When she left the inn, she took a deep breath. The air was cold, but not uncomfortable. The cloak would be more than enough warmth for her. She stretched her arms in the air. Taking that ‘nap’ really was a good idea. She felt refreshed and ready to face whatever fate wanted her to face.

She walked on the main pathway. A few people walked here and there, but it seemed that most the population was already indoors. She looked up in the sky. It had been only about half an hour since the sun set, and yet many of the Kingdom chose to stay indoors. She frowned. It really did seem that she would be seeing the evils come out tonight.

A scream breaks her out of her head. She turns to the source of the sound to see a man and a woman. The man holds the woman’s arms together.

“Come on babe! All I’m askin’ is just one night together!” He says, flashing his gold teeth.

The woman screams again, struggling against his grip. “No! Stop, I don’t like you!”

The man’s face hardens. “Well, if you won’t go willingly…”

The man raises his arm and Pearl quickly darts to the man and holds his arm back. He goes to swing it down, but Pearl is able to hold him from doing so.

He turns around. “What the fuck are you doing?” He says.

“Leave that girl alone.” Pearl says. She lowers the pitch of her voice so that he won’t be able to recognize her.

“You know what? You want her, fine! I can find easier woman to fuck!” The man throws the woman on the ground and storms off.

Pearl sighs and turns to look at the woman. Pearl extends her arm out to her the woman, but the woman’s eyes widen. “No!” she yells.

Pearl retracts her arm. “Wait, no, I’m trying to help-“

The woman hastily scrambles onto her feet and runs off. Pearl sighs.

_Is it so bad here that people won’t trust people that help them? Did she think that I stopped the guy just to do the same thing to her?_ Pearl sighs. The night wasn’t going well so far.

* * *

 

Pearl walked around a little more after that. She was looking for a ‘bar’. She had heard from other gems that ‘bars’ were where the humans went to relax after a long day. She also heard that they drank ‘alcohol’, which would lower inhibitions and cause some humans to act rowdy. She shook her head. Humans were…an interesting species.

She had passed a few rowdy bars. Fights were going on inside. Shattering glass could be heard. But she wasn’t looking to watch a fight. What she wanted to find was a quiet bar. If what she heard was right, then she might be able to catch the conversations of intoxicated bar patrons. She wanted to hear what they really thought about this Kingdom.

She eventually found the bar that she was searching for – a small pub tucked away from the main walkway. When she entered, she saw a few humans here and there, most tucked away in tight groups. However, a few humans sat at the bar in the front. She took a seat a few stools away from them. It was close enough that she would be able to hear their conversation, but far enough away so that they won’t think that she’s spying on them.

The barman walks over to Pearl. “Hello Cloaky, what can I get for ‘ya?”

“Uhh…do you have anything _without_ alcohol in it?” Pearl says, using her same lowered voice from before.

The barman chuckles. “Alright cloaky, I got apple juice, that’s good enough for you?”

Pearl nods, and puts some coins and cash on the table. The barman takes a few of it and puts the apple juice in front of her. “Alright, here you go, cloaky.”

Pearl takes the juice and drinks it. Her face contorts in disgust. _Ugh, this is terrible!_

“Well, that’s Pink Diamond after all, what can you expect?” Pearl snaps out of her own thoughts, remembering why she came here in the first place.

She smiles. _Excellent. This is exactly what I wanted to hear._

Another human, a female, laughs. “I guess so, I guess so. But it seems that the castle is a mess right now.”

The first human, a male gasps. “Really? What have you heard, tell us! Tell us!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll tell you.” The female says. “I’ve heard that one of Pink Diamond’s officers has left the castle.”

Pearl’s eyes widen in fear. _Shit! They’re talking about me!_

The male gasps. “I knew it! Even the gems have realized that we live in a shitshow!”

The female chuckles. “It only was a matter of time. Being that close to Pink Diamond, seeing her behind the scenes, it must really suck.”

The male laughs. “Dude, can you imagine? Having to deal with that tyrant of a leader _every_ single day? I would probably kill myself.”

“Well, regardless, this probably means that a rebellion could be nearing. A rebellion lead by a gem against Pink Diamond herself? Can you believe that!”

“I personally would love that.” The male says. “I can’t wait to get out of this hell hole job and be a traveling artist!”

“Yeah, I would love to get out of this Kingdom as well.” The female says. “The taxes are hell, why do I have to pay taxes when Pink Diamond doesn’t even give two shits about me in the first place?”

“To fund the war, obviously.” The male says. “These gems just _love_ fighting with each other, and they had to go and get us humans stuck in the middle.”

The female sighs. “I don’t know why they just didn’t leave us alone.”

The sighs, and the both of them sit in silence.

Pearl sighs. _It really does seem that being a human here in the Pink Diamond Kingdom is a terrible thing. But Rose…she loved humans! I always blindly believed that she was doing the best that she could, that all of these rules were made so that humans could live up to their full potential. But it looks like I have been fooled._

_But wait! How do these humans know about me? They must be getting intel from someone in the castle. Other humans? Impossible, even the artists aren’t allowed out. It must be another gem. There must be a rebel group in our midst. So this means…other gems have realized the error of Pink Diamond’s ways, long before Greg came into the castle._

Pearl sighs. _I really am a fool._

The front door slams open, snapping Pearl out of her thoughts. Pearl looks up to see and Onyx and her Pearl guards standing at the foot of the door. The Onyx walks in and stands in front of the bar.

“Alright humans, listen up!” Onyx takes out a piece of parchment from her bag and begins to read from it.

_“After intensive investigation, it has been found that this bar has been guilty of breaking the rules in Article 5: Crime. Misinformation about Pink Diamond and her gems has run rampant in this pub, and the owner has not stopped it. In contrast, he has let it flourish. Therefore, the court of Pink Diamond has decreed that all humans currently in this pub will be arrested and imprisoned.”_

Onyx rolls up the scroll and smiles. “Alright Pearls! Gather the humans! I got the owner.”

Onyx slowly walks to the owner, grinning like a devil. “Now you, young man. You’re in trouble. I’ve been given direct orders from Pink Diamond. You know what she said?”

The barowner gulps. “N-no…” he says, voice trembling.

“She said that she wants your head on a platter!” Onyx says, raising her sword for the killing strike.

Without thinking, Pearl darts to the Onyx and unhealths her sword. As Onyx swings her sword down, it contacts with the blade of Pearl’s sword.

Onyx’s eyes widen. “L-liutenant Pearl?” she says, lowering her sword.

Pearl looks up at Onyx, causing her hood to fall down, revealing her face to all. “Yes…I am Lieutenant Pearl.”

The many Pearl guards drop their human victims and run to their Lieutenant. “Lieutenant Pearl! Lieutenant Pearl! You’re alive!”

Pearl scoffs. “Of course I’m alive.”

Pearl turns to look at Onyx in the eye. “I know that you don’t get your orders directly from Pink Diamond. You get your orders from the head of the HR department. Which means…” Pearl smirks.

“I can revoke that order. You are to go back to the castle and state that the humans put up a struggle, so you had no choice but to kill them all. You will not tell them that you saw me here. Do you understand?”

Onyx gulps. “Yes ma’am!” she says, saluting at Pearl.

Pearl smirks. “Excellent. You are dismissed.”

Onyx quickly walks out of the door, ready to be as far away from her Lieutenant as possible. The Pearl’s, however, linger. They watch Lieutenant Pearl with wide eyes.

Lieutenant Pearl sees their unsure faces and smiles. “My Pearl’s, please do not worry about me.” She says.

“B-but…” a Pearl says. “C-can we tell the other Pearl’s that we saw you?”

Lieutenant Pearl smiles. “As long as you don’t mention that you saw me here, specifically. Maybe…” Pearl scratches her chin. “Maybe you saw me meditating at a nearby stream or something, but you respected that I wanted to be left alone, so you didn’t approach me.”

The Pearl’s smiles. “Alright Lieutenant!”

“Alright, alright, reunion’s over, go on, I’m sure you have better things to do.” The Pearl’s smile and wave at Lieutenant Pearl before leaving.

As soon as they leave, Pearl realizes that the entire pub is dead silent. She turns around to see humans staring at her wide eyed. She turns to look at the two humans that she spied on earlier.

“Yes, I am the officer that left the castle.” Pearl says, smirking.


	24. The Humans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to KRMK Chapter 24! Today we will join Lieutenant Pearl as she talks to a few humans.
> 
> Thank you so much for your continued support of KRMK! I do hope you are enjoying the story. Please let me know your thoughts of this chapter! See you next week!
> 
> -Ashley (Ta3peas)

All the humans in the bar are struck with silence. Eventually, one of the females that she spied on earlier manages to speak.

“Holy shit! That wasn’t just a rumor!” The female walks over to Pearl and extends her hand out to Pearl.

“My name is Ha-“ she says before the barowner cuts her off, stepping between her and Pearl.

The barowner turns to look at the girl. “Woah there, Hana, we don’t know if she’s telling the truth!”

Hana takes a step backward in surprise. “But Jack! She just stopped those goons from taking us in! That gem almost KILLED you!”

Jack shakes his head. “I don’t care. I’ve seen gems try to make friends with us only for them to ruin us yet again!” Jack turns around and points a finger accusingly at Pearl.

“What makes you think that I can be fooled yet again?” he says in accusation.

Pearl sighs. “I’m only beginning to understand what’s really going on in the Kingdom, and yet I can already understand why you wouldn’t trust me. Pearl sits back down on a bar stool. She looks down at her lap before starting her story.

“As you might be aware, I am the right hand gem for Pink Diamond. I…we made battle plans together, fought together, really did everything together.”

Pearl looks away, sighing. “I guess I got a little infatuated with Rose.”

Suddenly, all of the humans in the pub gasp in surprise. “You can call her by her real name!” Hana says, astonished.

Pearl’s eyes widen in horror. “U-uh…whoops? I don’t usually call her by her real name when others are around, I just…got lost in the moment.”

“Anyways, all of that bliss changed when Ro-Pink Diamond brought a human pet into her quarters.”

And with that, the humans gasp yet again. “Woah, woah, woah, Pink Diamond has a human pet?”

Pearl turns to look at the male. It was the same one that she spied on before. “Yes…yes she does. I never got your name?”

“It’s Chris.” He says. “So this human…is he a slave like Princess Leia?”

Pearl raises an eyebrow. “Who?”

Chris shakes it off. “Nevermind. Just tell me more about it.”

Pearl shakes her head. “Okay…well, this human was brought in for multiple cases of stealing-“

“Oh my! Is that GREG?” Hana and Chris say simultaneously.

“Yes, I believe he called himself Greg.” Pearl says. “How do you know him?”

“Oh, my man Greg-“  Clark says before being interrupted by Jack.

“Chris! What did I just say?” Jack says in warning.

“Dude! This might be the only way that we’ll get Greg back!” Chris says.

“He’s right.” Hana says. “Can’t we just…try?”

Jack sighs. “I guess you’re right.”

Chris turns to look at Pearl. “All of us here in this bar are actually apart of a small band of humans that want to win our freedoms back. We were sick and tired of being forced to live while serving a Diamond that does not give us the freedoms that we deserve.”

“There were only a few of us in the beginning, but we began to bring more and more members in. Eventually, we found people who were skilled in occupations not available to humans. Engineering, computer science, what have you. During a few years, we created new technology that would help in the fight against Pink Diamond. However…that happiness wasn’t meant to last that long.”

Chris sighs. “When our group became bigger, we began to be noticed by Pink Diamond. Even though she didn’t know exactly what we were doing, she knew that a big group of humans wasn’t a good thing. So one day, an ambush happened. The leaders of the group were taken away into Pink Diamond’s castle, never to be seen again.”

Chris sighs. “Those humans were me and Hana’s parents.” Hana nods in agreement.

After a brief silence, Chris begins again. “Since then, we have been trying to get the group together again, but many are scared. Many feel that it is better to live like this than risk the chance of being taken away by Pink Diamond.” Chris’ eyes narrow. “I don’t know how they can live like that.”

Chris sighs. “Anyways, Pink Diamond has been giving this area less and less food since most of the humans in this area of the Kingdom were a part of the rebellion. Greg was part of the few brave humans that were tasked with…well, taking a few extra loafs of bread when the gems weren’t looking.”

Pearl nods. “He had quite a name in the castle for a while.”

Pearl looks at the crowd. At the two young kids, telling their secrets just so that they could get their cherished friend back. At the barman, an old gruff man who had learned to never trust the gems. She turned to look at the rest of the humans in the bar. The few, determined ones that would not settle for anything less than full freedom. She sighs.

“I remember the human rebellion.” Pearl says. “I remember thinking how foolish the humans were, that there was no way that humans could ever think of defeating the great Pink Diamond. I watched-I watched as Rose gave the orders to Onyx to find the leaders of the group.”

Tears start to form under Pearl’s eyes. “I blindly followed orders because I thought that Rose knew what was best for humans. I…I thought that she was treating you with dignity, but in reality…”

Pearl lowers her head. “We are just as bad as the other Diamonds.”

Pearl sighs. “I was so used to being passive on Homeworld, I just…I just couldn’t see anything else when freedom was placed in my hands. But…”

Pearl raises her head, eyes full of determination. “But that was the old me. I’m going to change things.”

Pearl takes a step forward. “I will help Rose realize the errors in her ways. I WILL help the gems and the humans form a rebellion against Rose’s ways! And…”

Pearl looks at Chris, Hana and Jack. “I will help you get Greg back.”

Suddenly, the entire pub starts to cheer. A few patrons carry Pearl on their shoulders and begin to parade her around the pub, all while chanting _Pearl, Pearl, Pearl!_

After a few minutes, they put Pearl back down to the earth. She turns to look at Jack. He is smiling.

“Huh, you really have changed, haven’t you?” Jack says.

Pearl smiles. “I’m trying, at least.” Pearl walks to the bar and sits down. She pulls out a few pieces of parchment from her pack.

“Well, now that that’s over, let’s get to work” she says.

Hana and Chris look at each other in confusion. “Work?” Hana says.

Pearl looks at Hana, smirking. “Of course, we need to figure out a plan of attack.”


	25. The Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to KRMK Chapter 25! Today we join all the castle gems in welcoming Lieutenant Pearl back to the Pink Diamond castle!
> 
> Happy August everyone! I hope you are all doing well! And of course, thank you for reading and supporting my work! I would not have been able to write 25 chapters without you :) Please let me know what you think of the chapter and I will see you next week!
> 
> -Ashley (Ta3peas)

Pearl hops over the castle wall and watches the entrance with rapt attention. It was the last week of the month, which meant that the Pearls would be guarding the castle doors. Pearl smiled. It was the perfect entrance.

She thought about the past week. Pearl had lived for thousands of years, but she has never learned as much as she had in the past week. Everything that she knew was turned on its head. It was as the blindfold that she had been wearing had finally been taken off. And, well, to be honest, she had let herself be blindfolded. She had been so easily swayed by Rose’s words that she chose to overlook everything else. But she was a different gem now. She had seen the horrors that existed, not in another diamonds Kingdom, but in her very own. And she was ready to bring change to the Kingdom.

The past few days had been very busy for Pearl. She had met many others of the human resistance and started planning resistance maneuvers with them. The tactics they made were like what the humans did in the past, with one important change: they would have gems helping them out. The humans strongly believe that there are gems in the castle that need just a little ‘push’ to be thrown onto the other side. Some of the leaders that Pearl talked to even believed that there _was_ a resistance movement already set up in the castle. Pearl was flabbergasted at this information, but well, you never know.

So that was Pearl’s job. Enter the castle, go back to her job, and find those gems. That’s it, no talking to Rose, no trying to change her mind. Just…go find the gems, ok?

But that is where Pearl hesitated. Resistance movements and fights for freedom would be purposely ignored by Rose. They have popped up in the past, and they have done nothing, so why would this one be any different? Pearl felt that she was the only one in the castle that could change Rose’s mind. She knew Rose the best, and even though she had seen the dark side of Rose, she still wanted to try, at least.

That was what Pearl’s plan was. Even though she promised the humans that she wouldn’t go talk to Rose, she just _had_ to. Besides, if Rose changes her mind, then everything can be changed and the humans don’t have to lift a finger. It would be _so_ much easier.

Right?

Pearl watches as the Citrine finishes up her work and waves at the two Pearl guards before leaving. That was her cue. She puts her hood up before jumping down. She lands in front of the two Pearl guards, startling them.

They both raise their swords. “Who are you? What business do you have here? Show yourself!” One of the Pearl’s say confidently.

Lieutenant Pearl stands up straight. She smirks. “A very confident voice.” She lowers her hood, “Good job, dear.”

The two Pearl’s gasp and drop their swords. “Lieutenant Pearl!” They yell before running to her and hugging her.

When they break the hug, Lieutenant Pearl looks at the both of them. She sighs. “I am very glad to see you two, but why did you drop your swords? I could have been an illusion.”

The two Pearls lower their heads. “O-oh…right. Sorry Lieutenant.”

Lieutenant Pearl smiles. “It’s alright. Please return to your positions.”

The two Pearl’s nod and jog back to their positions, grabbing their swords and standing much straighter than they were earlier. Lieutenant Pearl smiles. “Very good. I’ll see you soon.”

Pearl opens the castle door and enters. As soon as the door shuts, the two guard Pearls break into huge grins.

“She’s back.” One of them says.

“Yes, she really is.” The other replies.


	26. We Need To Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! So today you are getting 2(!) chapters! I messed up the ordering of the chapters on my Patreon so you get two today! Hope you enjoy!

_ Chapter 25: We Need to Talk _

The walk from the castle entrance is not a long one. Well, it would not be a long one if Pearl was not stopped at every possible opportunity. Word had spread fast that their beloved Lieutenant had returned, and it seemed that every gem had come of their quarters to get their first glance at the lieutenant.

Pearl received many kind words, and a lot of hugs. ‘Hugging’ wasn’t Pearl’s thing, but she knew that many of the gems liked partaking in that human activity, so she had let them do so. Pearl had also learned about the happenings of the castle. Many of them gems were very saddened to hear that their lieutenant had left, but after some initial hiccups, it seemed that the gems had gone back to their usual routine. She was very happy to hear this news. She was expecting to come back to find the place inflamed, with her Pearl’s running around midst of the chaos, but what she found was the castle exactly the way that it was before she left it. Excellent. That would mean that nothing would be stopping her from talking with Rose.

“Lieutenant!  It is I, the Peridot that you left in charge of the Pearl dormitories! Would you like a debriefing of the past week-“ Peridot says before Pearl slowly raises her hand, stopping her.

“I would love the debriefing…later. I have some business to attend to with Pink Diamond.”

Peridot nods. “Of course, I’m sure that you have a lot to talk about with Pink Diamond.”

Pearl sighs. “Yes, yes I do.”

Pearl walks away and turns the corner. In front of her is Pink Diamond’s door. She sighs. _A usual sight that would make me happy now makes me…anxious. Well, I guess we have to just face our fears head on.”_

Pearl walks up to the door and slowly opens it. “Rose?” she says carefully. She peeks in to see Rose sitting at her study. Rose looks up from her work and smiles.

“You are back, please come in.” Rose says softly.

Pearl comes in, closes the door and slowly makes her way to the center of the room. She starts to fiddle with her hands, anxious at the impeding conversation. Rose notices this and sighs.

“My dearest Pearl. I hope your journey has helped in whatever had been plaguing your mind.” Rose says softly.

Pearl sighs. “It has, really, it has. I had learned many things on my journey through the Kingdom. That is why I am here today. I wish to talk to you about my discoveries.”

Rose’s eyes widen. “Of course. What did you see out there, Pearl?”

Pearl takes a deep breath, steadying herself. “Well, I saw…wait…where is Greg?”

Rose raises an eyebrow. “Who-oh! The human.” Rose rolls her eyes. “He was great…for a while. Eventually, he began to talk back to me.”

Pearl’s eyes widen. “What did he say?”

Rose waves it off. “That’s not important. But, I just don’t understand, Pearl. I, we sacrificed our lives for these humans. And this is how they repay us? They are much too young to understand sacrifice my dear Pea-

“Why are you so caught up with what you did in the past Rose!” Pearl yells. Rose’s eyes widen in shock.

Pearl takes a step back, surprised at her outburst. _Well, here we go._

Pearl takes a deep breath before continuing. “It’s great that we saved the humans in the past. Really, it is. But I have seen the conditions that they currently live in, Rose! We sit here and talk about freedom and happiness, but we constantly bore down on them with rules, creating a life of hardship and depression!”

Rose sighs. “Those rules are set in place for a reason, Pearl. The humans need guidance-“

Pearl scoffs. “It’s not guidance as much as closing them into a box, Rose. There is barely any room for creation and growth outside of the castle. Do you remember, Rose? Do you remember when all that you were supposed to be doing was taking orders from someone else? Didn’t you hate it? That is how the humans feel! I’ll be honest, Rose. You’ve done well for the gems of this castle, regardless of type, they are all treated well, and they can do whatever job they want to. But the humans….are like trash.”

Pearl shakes her head. “It seems that it was very appropriate for you to take the name Pink Diamond, Rose. Because you have become just as cold and merciless as the rest of them.”

Pink Diamond’s nose flares in anger. “What did you say?”

Pearl’s eyes widen, and she takes a step back in fear. “I-I mean-“

Rose slams down on the button at her desk. “Guards! Get her out of my sight!”


	27. Locked Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to KRMK Chapter 27! Today we will join Lieutenant Pearl as she meets the humans that the Pink Diamond castle has incarcerated.
> 
> Hey everyone! I hope you are enjoying the series so far, and thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think of the chapter and I will see you next week!

“We’re very sorry Lieutenant Pearl, we don’t want to put you in jail, but an order is an order.” A guard Pearl says as she holds Lieutenant Pearl’s arms behind her back. She is a yellow tinted Pearl.

Lieutenant Pearl was currently being lead down to the cells deep below the castle, accompanied by two guard Pearls. She sighs. “It’s alright, you do what you have to do.”

The other Pearl looks at Lieutenant Pearl with wide eyes. “I’m very surprised that you didn’t fight us off though, Lieutenant.” This one has a blue tint to her skin.

The Lieutenant smirks. “I’m sure you are quite aware that I could easily take down you two, but I will not. You are my Pearl’s; I would never hurt you.”

The two Pearl’s blush at the statement. “T-thank you Lieutenant.” They stammer out.

Lieutenant Pearl smirks at them both, but then the change of light catches her attention. She looks up to see that the Pearl guards have led her to the darker area of the jail, far from where the gem cells are located.

The Lieutenant looks at her guards curiously. “Are you SURE you’re bringing me to the correct area?”

The yellow tinted Pearl nods. “S-sorry Lieutenant Pearl, but Pink Diamond has ordered us to put you in the human cells.”

Lieutenant Pearl raises an eyebrow. “Well damn, I really did piss her off.”

The two guard Pearl’s look at each other in confusion.  “Lieutenant Pearl…if you don’t mind me asking…” The blue tinted Pearl asks carefully.

Lieutenant Pearl smiles. “You’re curious as to _why_ I’m being locked up, aren’t you?

The two Pearls nod in unison.

Lieutenant Pearl sighs. “While I have no reason to not tell you, I don’t want you to get mixed up in this…at least, not yet.

The two Pearls nod gravely. “I understand.” The yellow tinted Pearl says.

They turn the corner and walk a few more feet. When they arrive at the cell, the two Pearl’s sigh.

“Well, I guess it’s time to part, Lieutenant.” The yellow tinted Pearl says as she fishes the keys out of her pocket.

Lieutenant Pearl smiles sadly. “I guess it is. But I promise you, we will meet again.”

The two Pearl’s smile. The yellow tinted Pearl opens the jail door. “Alright Lieutenant. Here we go. Oh wait! We um…we need to take your sword.”

Lieutenant Pearl looks at the sword hanging at her hip. That sword was the same sword that the Lieutenant had used through the gem war, it was the sword given to her by Rose, as a promise of future freedom. And now it was being taken away.

Lieutenant Pearl sighs. “Well, an order is an order.” She says before giving her sword to the Pearls.

“Don’t worry Lieutenant, we will keep your sword safe.” The blue tinted Pearl says.

Lieutenant Pearl smiles. “Thank you.” She walks into the cell, turns around and waves at the two guards. The two Pearl’s wave at her before closing the door.

The yellow tinted Pearl locks the door, sighing. “This is really weird, and awkward.”

The blue tinted Pearl nods. “I really wonder what happened in there though.”

The yellow tinted Pearl grins. “I have a few guesses as to what happened in there.”

The blue tinted Pearl smiles. “Oh really? You must tell me, yellow!”

The yellow tinted Pearl starts to walk away from the jail cell, with the other Pearl following her excitingly.

“Well, I think it all started when…”

Lieutenant Pearl sighs, and covers her face with her hands. “I can’t believe I’m stuck in here. Didn’t Jack specifically tell me _not_ to talk to Rose? And what is the first thing I do when I return to the castle? Talk to Rose, I swear I am just a stupid little stupid-

A sudden movement causes her to remove her hands from her face. When she does, she is surprised to see all the humans of the cell standing in a wide arc in front of her. They all hold pots and pans, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

Lieutenant Pearl smiles awkwardly, raising her arms in defense. “O-oh…oh, hello there.”

Greg walks to the front. “Ha!” she says triumphantly. “Even YOU were thrown into jail!”

Lieutenant Pearl puts her hands down. “I heard why you were thrown in here, Greg, and to be quite honest with you, that was sort of the reason why I was thrown here as well.”

Greg laughs. “Yeah right! You’re so brainwashed into Pink Diamonds ways, I bet you that she just sent you here to spy on us!”

Lieutenant Pearl sighs. “If I was sent here as a spy, then why don’t I have my sword?” she says as she gestures to her side.

Vidalia pushes her way to the front. “Well, it’s so that we believe you, obviously.”

Pearl sighs. “Ugh, what is going to make you believe-wait.” Pearl looks at Greg.

“You’re friends, Jack, Hana, Chris. I saw them outside.”

Greg’s eyes widen. “Y-you saw-“ Vidalia walks in front of Greg, silencing him.

“So you saw them, so what?” Vidalia says, crossing her arms.

“I saw the horrors that you have had to face out there, that your friends still continue to face. I have heard of their stories, and of yours too, Greg! I admit, I had been a fool, I thought that we really were helping humans, I really did. But i’ve been duped, and I’ve been shown the error of my ways by your friends Greg.”

Pearl sighs. “My original reason that I returned to the castle was to recruit gems for the rebellion against Ro-Pink Diamond.” She says. “But I was foolish, I thought that I could change her mind! I really thought that my opinion meant something to her, but I guess it didn’t.

Pearl walks to the nearest chair and sits down. “That is the best defense that I have. If you don’t believe me…then I guess I have no choice but to sit here.”

Greg looks over to Vidalia. Vidalia frowns. “No Greg, she is trying to fool you! Why would someone so high up on the caste care about us lowly humans?”

Greg sighs. “Vidalia? Didn’t you say that the key for our rebellion was Lieutenant Pearl? That winning her over would give us a big advantage.”

Vidalia’s eyes widen. “Yes, but-“

“Then what are you waiting for!” Greg says, throwing his hands up in the air. “It’s time to stop being defensive! This is all of our chances for freedom! I mean…what else are we going to do? Sit here while we watch this Pearl roll around the place in misery?”

Pearl wrinkles her nose in disapproval. “Excuse me!”

Vidalia puts her hands up in defeat. “Alright, alright, I guess I was being a little too defensive. So…how should we start?

Greg smiles. “Well, we should start by introducing gem to gem.”

Pearl raises an eyebrow. “Gem to…gem?”

Garnet walks out of the crowd and extends her arm out to Pearl. “Hello, the name is Garnet.”


	28. Temper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to KRMK Chapter 28! Today we will join Amethyst as she has a chit chat with Bismuth.
> 
> How are all of you doing? I'm doing well myself, I actually started a new job in the middle of July, so it's my one month anniversary since I started! Yay! Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think of it, and I will see you next week!

Amethyst shakes her head. “Wow, I wish I could be there to see that breakdown, sounds crazy.”

Bismuth shakes her head. “No way girl! It was a very tense situation. Ya know, ya got Lieutenant Pearl there, swinging her fists and yelling at the air! Everyone was scared that she was gonna land a good one on them!”

Amethyst chuckles. “I guess, I guess. But do you really think that it was because of what I said to her on that day that we were sparring?”

Bismuth smiles. “Oh yes, I must thank you for that. It was really nice ta see Lieutenant Pearl break down like that. Don’t get me wrong, I highly respect the girl, but she just needed to be brought down a couple of notches.”

Amethyst nods. “I feel you, I feel you, I still can’t believe that Pink Diamond locked her up though.”

Bismuth eyes widen. “I know! It’s the juiciest part of this whole thing! First, the Lieutenant goes off into the Kingdom, and then, she goes and gets locked up by Pink Diamond as soon as she comes back! She musta really pissed off Pink Diamond for that to happen.”

Amethyst nods in agreement. “But what would the Lieutenant do? I doubt she would want to start a fight with her, she just seemed so obsessed with the Diamond.”

Bismuth sighs. “Well, seeing the rest of the Kingdom can change a gem.”

Amethyst nods. “I bet it can.”

After a few moments of silence, Bismuth talks again. “But ya know, Pearl hasn’t been the only one with a change in behavior.”

Amethyst looks up at Bismuth. “Pink Diamond too?”

Bismuth nods. “Of course, my dear! Have you seen her lately? No, because she’s locked herself in her room! Now, _why_ do ya think she locked herself up all of a sudden?”

 Amethyst hums, lost in thought. “Well,” she says, “Pink Diamond did throw that slave human into the jail for no reason and…oh.”

Bismuth grins. “I see ya catchin’ on. But lemme tell ya, I have seen Pink Diamond come out of her room soon after Lieutenant Pearl was put in jail, and I’ll tell ya, it was a scary sight. She yelled and screamed at every single gem that she saw. Ta be honest, it was probably worse than Lieutenant Pearl’s breakdown.”

“Wow…” Amethyst says softly. “So we have Lieutenant Pearl, who got mad at me for telling her the truth. You think…Greg _and_ Lieutenant Pearl did the same to Pink Diamond?”

Bismuth smiles. “Right on tha dot, girl. I don’t know what else would explain all these weird happenings. And…” Bismuth goes up to Amethyst’s ear and whispers.

“It’s about time Pink Diamond had someone tell her the truth.”

Amethyst chuckles. “I know. I mean, it seems that most gems here like a respect her, I can’t see anyone going up to her and talking back to her.”

And with that, Bismuth eyes start to twinkle. “Well my dear, I have quite the story to tell you.”

Bismuth lowers her face to Amethyst’s “Would you like to know more about the gems that live in this castle?” she says quietly.

Amethyst raises an eyebrow. “Uhh…sure?”

Suddenly, the door to the training area slams open, revealing Rose Quartz on the other side. She stomps in, and sees the incompetents sitting there, doing nothing.

Rose Quartz starts turning over the tables and shoving over their occupants. “What in Diamonds name are you doing? You must be spending every second of your lives training! You do not know when the other Diamonds will come and destroy us all!”

Bismuth rolls her eyes. “Welp, there’s Ms. Temper. I think we hav’ta finish this conversation in more…private areas.”

* * *

 

Bismuth leads Amethyst down an unfamiliar corridor. This hallway was deathly quiet, unlike the loud and boisterous hallways of the Pearl dormitories.

Bismuth sees Amethyst’s uncertainty and flashes a smile of reassurance to her. “I was the Bismuth that supplied the rebellion with all of their swords, so I get a little something extra compared to the average gem. These walls are sound proof, so any conversation happening in these rooms will stay in these rooms.”

Amethyst nods. “I see.”

Bismuth stops at a room. The plaque on it reads:

_Bismuth  
Loyal swordmaker for the rebellion_

Bismuth opens the door and lets Amethyst in. When she closes the door, Amethyst notices music being emitted into the room. “Where is that sound coming from?”

Bismuth points to a contraption on her table. It is a box with a horn sticking out of it. “It’s called a phonograph. The gems in this area of the castle were sick of how quiet the rooms were, so some gems put together some earth materials to make this thing.”

Amethyst nods. “Wow, yeah, that is cool.”

Bismuth smiles and pats her hand on one of the chairs in her room. “Anyways, come have a sat. We’ve got a lot of history to go over.”


	29. The Gems of Pink Diamond's Castle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to KRMK Chapter 29! Today we continue to join Amethyst as she finds out more about the gems of Pink' Diamond's castle.
> 
> How is everyone doing on this August day? Can you believe it's almost September? It's crazy at how fast time flies! Anyways, let me know what you think of the chapter and I will see you next week!

Bismuth claps her hands together. “Alright alright. First, let’s talk about the hierarchy of this Kingdom. As I said earlier, the highest ranked gems reside here in this corridor. We were the gems that contributed the most to the rebellion. As a result, we were given riches. A sound proofed room, musical amenities, whatever we wanted. This made us insanely loyal. However, even that much riches were not enough to blind us from the changes that we began to see in Rose Quartz.”

Amethyst gasps. “Y-you called her-“

Bismuth chuckles. “Remember dear, nothing said in here ever comes out. I have no respect for the quartz, so I don’t call her by her trash name if I don’t have to”

Amethyst nods. “Alright then. Rose Quartz. What changes did you see in her?”

Bismuth laughs. “Terrible changes, dear. When the Kingdom was established, the humans really did live in a utopia. They didn’t have to work, they were well fed, and most of all, they were happy. This happiness meant that there was a huge population boom. You know, the humans have to do _something_ with their free time, after all.”

Amethyst laughs. “I bet.”

Bismuth continues, “However, this population boom happened around the same time that the Diamond’s began to attack the Kingdom. Many humans died from the ambushes, leading many to lose faith in their leader. Of course, Rose Quartz couldn’t have that. So, what did she do? Well, she turned herself into a god.”

“Rose Quartz believed that if the humans began to see her as a god, then they would submit. She felt that she would be able to explain her loses this way as well. A Yellow Diamond ambush killed your family members? Well, it’s because you didn’t have faith in your Diamond! Of course, this didn’t work at first. It’s hard to think of someone as a God if you don’t see any miracles happenin’. But, but sheer luck, the gems of this Kingdom began to overpower the attackers. Eventually, the attacks began to lessen, and the humans began to believe in Rose Quartz. Many really did see her as a God. They felt that their hope in their Diamond gave their Diamond the power to destroy the attackers.”

“Wow…that’s crazy.” Amethyst says softly.

“Huh, that’s not even the craziest part!” Bismuth says. “You see, all of this hope and praise toward Rose Quartz got to her head real fast. She became obsessed with her power over humans. That was around the time that Rose Quartz created The Articles. They were a bunch of rules that the humans had to follow. At first, they weren’t too bad. Address Rose Quartz as pink diamond? Okay, sure. But eventually, the humans were given a curfew, and forced to work and thrown into prison for disobeying any rules.”

Amethyst shakes her head. “Well, that explains why there are so many humans in jail.”

Bismuth nods. “Many that end up there never leave the jail, either. Anyways, all of us high caste gems watched the happenin’s with great concern. We never thought that we would see Rose Quartz fall to such a deep low. However, one thing stopped all of us from confronting Rose Quartz about it.”

“Lieutenant Pearl.” Amethyst said gravely.

Bismuth nods her head. “That’s right. Lieutenant Pearl was the highest gem on the gem caste, only outranked by Rose Quartz herself. She was strong, and all the gems in the castle held her in high regard. However, she was blindly royal to Rose Quartz. She could not see the evil that Rose Quartz was doing. However, it seems like we may have another chance-“

A knock on the door interrupts Bismuth. She stands up and goes to look at the peephole. Satisfied, she opens the door.

“Well hello-wait, who is this?” Bismuth says, eyeing the Pearl dressed up in army gear.

The Pearl with a mustache shakes her head. “Cannot explain out here.”

Bismuth sighs. “Alright, alright come in.”

The four Pearls come in. Amethyst smiles when she sees who they are.

“Hey! It’s Private Pearl, Mustachio, Blue Pearl and Yellow Pearl! What’s up?” Amethyst says happily.

All four Pearls jump, unaware that there was another gem in the room. Mustachio looks at Bismuth warily. “Is it okay to talk with her in here?”

Bismuth nods. “Yes, she’s wit’ us. Now, answer the question, is it okay for us to talk with _her_ here?” Bismuth says, gesturing at Private Pearl.

Mustachio nods. “She is a recruit, completely on our side now.”

Bismuth sighs. “All right, all right. Have a sat, and tell me why y’all are here.”

The four Pearl’s sit down on Bismuth’s bed. Mustachio clears her throat before continuing.

“So, I am sure you are aware that Lieutenant Pearl had been recently thrown into jail. We know that Rose Quartz requested for Lieutenant Pearl to be locked up in the human jail, thanks to these brave Pearls.” She says, gesturing towards Blue and Yellow Pearl.

“These two quickly went to the other Pearl’s and told them of the news. This made them extremely upset but also very conflicted. To go with Rose Quartz or their great leader Lieutenant Pearl? This lead ‘Private Pearl’, as Amethyst had called her, to join our forces. I am currently unaware of the other Pearl’s decision regarding this matter, but it seems that our rebellion might have just gotten a bit more plausible.”

Bismuth smiles. “All right! All right! Guess we have to-“

“Wait, how do you know that the other Pearl’s will side with Lieutenant Pearl?” Amethyst says cautiously.

Mustachio looks at Amethyst and smiles. “Ah, you are new here so you do not know. Despite Lieutenant Pearl’s oversight on Rose Quartz’s…faults, Lieutenant Pearl had always been like a mother figure to us Pearl. She was always nice to the other gems of the castle, but she had always had a special bond with us Pearls.”

The other Pearls nod in agreement.

“I firmly believe that if Lieutenant Pearl were to stage a coup de tat, then the rest of the Pearl’s would follow her to the end.” Mustachio says, clasping her hands together.

Bismuth smiles. “Excellent, just what we need. Now, all we have to do is make sure that Lieutenant Pearl _really_ saw the evil side of not just the Kingdom, but of the Great Pink Diamond herself.”


	30. Jailbreak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to the 30th(!) chapter of KRMK! Today we join Lieutenant Pearl as she learns more about what the humans have been working on lately.
> 
> Hello everyone! Happy September! Honestly, I still can't believe it's already the latter half of the year, much less that it is September! Anyways, let me know what you think of the chapter and I will see you next week!

“I really think that it will work this time Garnet.” Pearl says while massaging her hands.

The last couple of days had been very busy for the Lieutenant. Even though she was holed up in a jail cell, it seemed that she had accomplished more there than she had in a long time. She got intel from all the humans there, and she was much more knowledgeable about the human resistance movement than she was before.

Her next order of business was to get to know this Garnet. She had heard stories around the castle of a ‘witch’ – a human with special electrical powers. When she was finally captured, they put her in jail and that was the end of that. No gem in the castle wanted to deal with a human with special powers, so no one took the time to thoroughly examine her. That oversight was probably what saved Garnet’s life: If the castle had heard of a gem helping humans, she would probably be poofed and locked away in a bubble forever.

She then went and looked at the gadgets that Garnet and the humans had been trying to make. It seemed to be a communication device, and per Priyanka, the humans in the Kingdom were working on their own as well. Pearl had spent the past couple of days trying to help them with the device, and it seemed finally have worked.

Pearl peers down at the LED screen while she continues to massage her hands. Garnet notices this and laughs.

“Are your hands still hurt from when I introduced myself to you?” Garnet says, grinning.

Pearl frowns. “No, but I still can’t believe you decided to shock my hand when I shook it!”

Garnet smiles. “Ah, I see. It’s your pride that’s hurt, not your hand.”

Pearl crosses her arms. “Yes, yes. Sure. So, the device works. But how will it connect to the other device? They were probably made with different techniques, we don’t even know if there’s works yet, and don’t forget.-“

A fuzz on the device interrupts Pearl’s musings. Pearl, Garnet and a few of the other humans gather around the device. After a few more seconds of fuzz, a voice can be heard.

“Hello, hello? Is anyone on the other line?”

Pearl gasps. It was Hana. Pearl grabs the device and talks into it. “Hana? Can you hear me? It’s Lieutenant Pearl!”

A gasp from the other side answers Pearl’s question. “Lieutenant Pearl! You’re there-wait…are you in jail?”

Pearl laughs awkwardly. “Aha, yes I am. Um…that’s a long story.”

Hana chuckles. “I bet! Anyways, great! We have a connection to you guys!”

Pearl smiles. “Yes we do. Okay, first order of-“

Greg snatches the device out of Pearl’s hands. She looks at Greg in annoyance.

“Greg, what-“ she says angrily.

“Hana? Hana is that you?” Greg says.

Hana gasps. “Greg? Hey guys, Greg is there!”

Gasps and woops of joy are emitted from the device. Hana and Greg immediately begin to catch up with each other.

Pearl sighs. “Alright, I guess the plans are on temporary hold. Well, I guess I better use the time to…”

A jingle of keys alerts the room. Greg immediately shuts off the device, in fear of who will be on the other side. When the door opens, Bismuth enters, along with…Amethyst?

Pearl raises an eyebrow. “Bismuth? What are you doing here?”

Amethyst shakes her head. “No time to talk, we have to go now!”

Pearl turns her head back to look at the humans. Bismuth puts her hand on Pearl’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry.” She says. “We’ll come back for them.”

Pearl turns around, confusion set in her features. “Alright, but you better explain everything, Bismuth.”

Bismuth winks. “Don’t worry, I will.”

* * *

 

The three of them manage to get back to Bismuth living quarters without seeing a single gem. Pearl was perplexed. Where were all the Pearl’s? They should be on patrol, it just didn’t make any sense…

Bismuth shuts the door to her room, bathing the room in that familiar silence. She walks over to the phonograph, and turns it on. She sits down, and Amethyst goes to sit in the seat next to her.

“Alright hun.” Bismuth says. “Please have a sat, we have some questions to ask you.”


	31. The Breaking Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to the 31st chapter of KRMK! Today we join Lieutenant Pearl as she discusses how to deal with Pink Diamond with Bismuth.
> 
> Wow guys, we made it to chapter 31! I still can't believe it! And I really couldn't do it without you guys! I really appreciate all of you out there! Thank you for all of your comments and kudos! Anyways, let me know your thoughts on this chapter and I will see you next week!

Pearl shakes her head. “Bismuth…I-I didn’t know that these sorts of things were happening outside.”

As soon as they had reached Bismuth’s room, Bismuth had begun to ask Pearl a tirade of questions, and Pearl was doing everything that she could to keep up. Eventually, she became aware that Amethyst had disappeared during the interrogation. Strange.

Bismuth raises an eyebrow. “Hun, I know you’ve ventured out into the Kingdom before this. Did you have a blindfold on or somethin’?”

Pearl sighs. “I might as well may have.” She says, looking out the window. The sun was beginning to set.

She turns to look back at Bismuth. “I can’t believe I’ve been foolish enough to think that Rose’s intentions were always pure…I guess I didn’t want to think of her as an evil tyrant.”

“But she is Pearl, and that is the harsh truth!” Bismuth says, standing up.

“Alright dear, I believe ya, so now, lemme tell you of our plans.” She walks over to her closet and takes out a big black crate. She puts it on the table in front of Pearl.

“Being the sword maker of the Kingdom can get repetitive, so I’ve been working on a special project to spice things up.”

Bismuth fishes a key out of her pocket and unlocks the crate. Bismuth takes out the contents of the crate and puts it on the table. Pearl raises an eyebrow in confusion. It seemed to be a weapon with a small, very sharp pointed point. It seemed to be something that one would use in very close combat, but even then, the point was not big enough to poof a gem. Unless…

Pearl gasps, covering her mouth with her hands. “Bismuth…you can’t be thinking-!”

Bismuth smiles. “Oh yes I am, hun. Rose Quartz has strayed from the path of right. She has fallen into the plaques of evil. She may not be a diamond, but she has become as evil as the rest of them. We have no choice but to shatter her”

Pearl shakes her head. “Rose is still scarred from shattering Pink Diamond; how can you expect this to be any different?”

Bismuth shakes her head. “Don’t you remember what Rose Quartz said? ‘It was a necessary evil.’ And it is a necessary moral that we must break.” Bismuth stands up and begins to walk around the small room.

“Think about it Pearl, if we shatter Rose Quartz, then the humans will be free to do as they wish! They will not have to be held under her power!”

Pearl stands up. “No Bismuth! We need to learn from Rose’s mistakes, not follow them! I may not know Rose as well as I thought I did, but we can still contain her…we can bubble her at least!”

Bismuth stops pacing around the room and looks at Pearl. After a few seconds, she smiles. “Alright dear, I guess you’re right.” She walks back to the table and puts The Breaking Point back in the box. She puts it back in her closet before looking back at Pearl.

“You do realize that this means that we will have to get close enough to poof Rose Quartz, right?” Bismuth says, voice full of concern.

Pearl smirks. “Rose has become lazy throughout the decades, I can easily outmaneuver her now.”

Bismuth chuckles. “Of course you would volunteer to do it. Anyways, we still do need to create a plan. You got any ideas?”

“Well…” Pearl says, standing up. “I have become aware of a small gem resistance that was active before.” Pearl begins to pace. “If we can activate them, then we can try to convince the rest of the castle to join our cause. But how do we win the majority? Surely most of the gems in the castle don’t really want to rebel against the gem that freed them from homeworld…right?”

Bismuth smirks. “That’s where you’re wrong, dear.” She stands up, beckoning Pearl to follow. She walks into her closet and…knocks on one of the walls?

“Hun, ya got everyone there?” she says.

“Yeah, we’re all here!” Amethyst says.

Bismuth turns around, smirking when she sees the look of confusion on Pearl’s face. Bismuth opens the secret door in her closet, and smirks when she sees Pearl’s eyes widen.

“After you, lieutenant.” She says.

The door is a bit shorter that she is, so she bows her head down to enter the room. When she raises her head, she gasps. The room on the other side of Bismuth’s closet was huge, almost as big as the Pearl dormitories. But that was not what shocked her. What shocked her was the vast number of gems that were in there. Peridots, Citrines, other Bismuths, that and more were here. But the gem that overshadowed all others were the Pearl’s. It seemed that they were all here. They were all grinning, happy to see their Lieutenant.

Lieutenant Pearl looks at Amethyst in amazement. “Amethyst, what-what’s happening here?”

Amethyst smirks. “Well, while you were being interrogated, I went and got the whole crew together.”

“Wait…when you say, ‘the whole crew...’” Pearl says in confusion.

Bismuth laughs “That’s right hun. These gems that stand before you are the gems that are a part of the new gem rebellion.”


	32. The Pearls of Pink Diamond's Castle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to the 32nd chapter of KRMK! Today we will learn a little bit more about the other Pearl's of the Pink Diamond castle. Those quirky little gems have been around for quite some time in the story, it's time that we learned about them!
> 
> How is everyone's day? I hope it's great! And if not, then I hope my story makes your day better! Anyways, let me know what you think of the chapter and and I will see you next week!

Pearl looks around in amazement. “This is amazing, I would never think that half of the Pearls of the Kingdom would be a part of the rebellion!”

Mustachio shakes her head, chuckling. “Ah, Lieutenant, that is an incorrect guess. All of the Pearls of this castle are a part of the rebellion, the other half are just on guard duty right now.”

Lieutenant Pearl whips her head around to look at Mustachio. “ _All_ of them? But…but why?”

“But _why_!?!?” A Pearl in the crowd says. She pushes herself to the front. When she gets to the front, she bows deeply.

“Apologies ma’am. My name, is Private Pearl. Well, that’s what they call me ‘round these areas anyways. Lieutenant Pearl! There is one reason why all of us stand here today. It’s you, Lieutenant Pearl!”

Lieutenant Pearl’s eyes widen. “M-me?”

Private Pearl nods her head. “Of course! You are the Pearl that started the original rebellion up in homeworld! You are the Pearl that put the fire in all the hearts of the other Pearls! You have us strength and hope! You helped us believe that we actually could do something significant!”

Mustachio stands up. “Exactly! You are strong in your beliefs, but you could change your way of thinking when you realized that it was wrong. It is a trait that many of us had only learned recently…”

Mustachio turns to look at the crowd. The crowd starts to part and two Pearls come out, a blue and a yellow Pearl.

Mustachio smiles at them. “Why don’t you introduce yourself to your lieutenant?” she says slyly.

Yellow Pearl nods. “Lieutenant Pearl, we are Yellow Pearl and Blue Pearl. We were the ones tasked with…locking you up those few months ago.”

Blue Pearl bows deeply again. “We apologize for that, Lieutenant.”

Lieutenant Pearl smiles. “Do not worry. I understand; you were only following orders.”

Blue Pearl shakes her head. “That may be true, but we regretted it as soon as we locked the door. We didn’t know _why_ Rose Quartz wanted to lock Lieutenant Pearl, but we had a feeling that it wasn’t for a very good reason.”

Yellow Pearl nods. “We would have left it as that if it wasn’t for Lieutenant Pearl. ‘I guess I really did piss her off’. That sentence really bothered the both of us. You see, we were once owned by Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond. As a Pearl on homeworld, we were already defenseless, but as a Pearl owned by a diamond, even more so. I’m sure you are aware of that, Lieutenant.”

The Lieutenant nods her head gravely.

“We both decided that we could not let this go without letting the others know.” Yellow Pearl says, “We told the rest of the Pearl’s, which set all of us into confusion. A superior has put her foot down, what can _we_ do? Then we remembered your words, Lieutenant. ‘You are Pearls, nothing should get in the way of what you are passionate about.’ It was around that time that Mustachio introduced us to the rebellion of the castle. We were amazed! There were gems that were rebelling against Rose Quartz! But as we began to talk to them, we understood Rose Quartz’s faults.”

Private Pearl nods. “Don’t feel bad, Lieutenant. We all were just as blinded as you were.”

Blue Pearl nods. “It was then that we realized something. On Homeworld, there was a strict caste; no one could move up it, only down. How is that different from what we have in this castle? Sure, Pearls may no longer be the slaves, but it did not matter. For the humans were now the Pearls of the Kingdom. We easily joined the rebellion after that.”

 “That’s my Pearls” Lieutenant Pearl says, smiling warmly.

“Oh yes!” Yellow Pearl says, “Here is your sword, Lieutenant, we made sure it stayed safe.”

Yellow Pearl opens the drawer next to her and takes out the Lieutenant’s sword. She walks over to Lieutenant Pearl and gives it to her. Lieutenant Pearl takes it. She holds it, turning it around in her hands. She smiles.

“I never thought I would see my trusty sword again.” Lieutenant Pearl looks at Yellow Pearl and smiles. “Thank you.”

Yellow Pearl bows, smiling. “Anything for you, Lieutenant.”

Lieutenant Pearl takes her sword and slides it into her belt before putting her hands on her hips.

“Alright then.” She says, “How do we begin?”

The crowd parts and Peridot and Citrine come up to the front. Pearl raises her eyebrows.

“Peridot? The gem dorm leader? And Citrine, I believe you are the fixer-upper of the castle?”

Citrine nods. “That’s right! Since I’m the fixer upper, I walk all over the castle, so I know of secret passageways that lead outside of the castle walls!”

Pearl’s eyes widen in surprise. “There’s secret passageways?!?!”

Peridot nods. “That is correct, Lieutenant. Citrine will be able to get gems and humans in and out of the castle without a single gem knowing. While you were in jail, I have been trying to create a secure way for us to communicate with each other from far distances. It’s been a while since I fiddled with technology, but I should get it up and running in no time.”

Lieutenant Pearl nods. “Excellent.” Lieutenant Pearl turns to look at Bismuth. “What can I do to help, Bismuth?”

Bismuth smiles. “Well dear, I’ve heard you got good rep with some o’ them humans down in the jail, right? Well, I would like you to go down there and let them know of the rebellion. There is a passageway to the jailcells, so you won’t be caught by Rose Quartz.”

Lieutenant Pearl nods. “Alright. Where is this passageway?”

Bismuth looks at Amethyst and smiles. “Don’t worry hun, Amethyst will show ‘ya the way.”


	33. Pearl and Amethyst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, welcome to Chapter 33! Today we join Pearl as she learns about secrets of Pink Diamond's castle.
> 
> Hope you are enjoying the series so far! Please let me know what you think of this chapter and i'll see you next week!

Bismuth says a few more words of encouragement before the meeting ends. When it does, the gems leave in separate groups to not rouse the suspicions of Rose Quartz. Pearl and Amethyst are one of the last to leave.

As Amethyst closes the door to Bismuth’s room, Pearl sighs. “What a day.”

Amethyst chuckles. “Lieutenant, the day has just begun.”

Pearl nods her head. “You’re right.” She says before they begin to walk.

They walk in silence for some minutes before they reach a deserted corridor. Amethyst looks to her right and left before looking back at the Lieutenant. “Watch this.” She says, smirking.

Amethyst crouches down and extends her hand to the wall. When she touches it her hand…goes right through?!?!

Pearl gasps at the sight. “Amethyst, wha-?”

Amethyst shakes her head. “Let’s get in first.”

Pearl nods and crouches down next to Amethyst. She touches the wall far from Amethyst’s hand, it’s solid. She slides her hand towards Amethyst and finds that the hole is around 3 feet in diameter – just enough for a small gem to get in. She crawls in for a couple of feet. It is then that she sees the tunnel expand out tall enough so that she can comfortably walk. She looked around. Torches lined the way so it was easy to see the way. She turns around to see Amethyst crawl out. When she does, Amethyst flashes the lieutenant an sly smile.

“Pretty cool, huh? She says, smiling.

Pearl shakes her head in amazement. “Yeah…”

Amethyst chuckles. “Come on, I’ll explain while we walk.”

Pearl nods and the two begin to walk through the tunnel. As they do, Pearl sighs. Amethyst looks at her.

“What’s wrong, lieutenant?” she says.

“It’s just…” she sighs again. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve been treating you ever since you’ve been here. I was mesmerized by Rose…Quartz’s ways so I couldn’t see any other way of thinking. I was a fool.”

Amethyst scoffs. “Well that’s the understatement of the century.”

Pearl smiles. “I know.”

Amethyst chuckles. “Don’t worry about it, I’m just glad the rose-tinted glasses are off, if you know what I mean. So...wanna know how we just walked through a wall?”

Pearl nods. “I absolutely do. Though I think that we didn’t walk through the wall. There must be some sort of projection of a wall there…”

Amethyst smiles. “Yup, you’re right on the money. Before, there would just be an actual piece of the wall there, but you had to put it in a certain way or else someone would figure out that it wasn’t supposed to be there. However, one of the humans managed to create that projection that you saw. The actual machine that projects the light is on the ceiling, so you wouldn’t be able to see it unless you knew what you are looking for.”

Pearl gasps in excitement. “Amazing! I never thought humans were capable of such a thing!”

Amethyst chuckles. “One human. She’s the smartest human I ever seen. I’m sure you’ll be able to meet her one day.”

Pearl nods. “I would love to.”

The walk for a bit in silence. The tunnel twisted and turned, went up and down, so Pearl was never able to see the exit.

Amethyst is the one to break the silence. “So Lieutenant. If you don’t mind me asking…how DID you join the rebels? I’ve heard crazy stories in the White Diamond Kingdom, but I’m sure they are far from the truth.”

Pearl smiles. “Well, did you know that I was once owned by White Diamond herself?”

Amethyst gasps. “So I WAS right! It makes so much more sense now!”

Pearl turns to look at Amethyst. “It does?”

Amethyst nods her head. “When I was in the White Diamond’s military, all White Diamond would talk about was defeating the Pink Diamond Kingdom and crushing that Pearl that left her all those years ago. I knew as soon as I saw you that you were the one that White Diamond talked about – the Pearl with the fireball hair.”

Pearl chuckled. “Glad to know that I’m popular there. Anyways, the rebellion began with Pink Diamond’s gems. Rose Quartz began to talk with a few of the gems and together, they staged a coup de tat. Pink Diamond – the real Pink Diamond – found out about this and consulted with White Diamond. This is how I found out about it. Even then, it sounded like a good thing. I could do what I wanted to do! I didn’t have to be under an oppressive regime! But I didn’t know what to do. I was indoctrinated with the idea that I could make no change – I was just a Pearl, after all. But then all that changed with Rose Quartz kidnapped me.”

Amethyst gasps. “She KIDNAPPED you?!?!”

Pearl nodded. “It was an effort by the rebellion to get the Pearl’s on their side. If the four ‘highest’ Pearl’s sided with the rebels, then it would be no time until the rest would follow. That is why blue and yellow pearl – as you like to call them – are here in the castle.”

“But…what about the original Pink Diamond, didn’t see have a Pearl?”

Pearl nods. “She did, but reconnaissance revealed that that Pearl was not interested at all of the rebellion – she was loyal to her diamond, and thought the rebels were a bunch of fools. After I gained their trust, they began to train me to fight, and I easily overtook the rest of the rebels in terms of strength and skill with the sword. They began to parade my likeliness everywhere along with Rose’s. It wasn’t long after that that many Pearl’s began to join our side. The rest…well, is history. Rose shatters Pink Diamond, and the war begins.”

Amethyst shakes her head in disbelief. “That’s amazing, it’s nothing like what I would have ever imagined.”

Pearl chuckles. “I take it that you were made on earth?”

Amethyst nods. “I was probably supposed to come out around the time that the war was going on, but when I came out, the kindergarten was deserted. I began to travel around the area to find others. That is how I found the White Diamond Kingdom. The people there would avoid me because I was a gem, but not Emma. She knew that I meant no harm. So she took me into her house, and I began helping them out until…well you know.”

Pearl nods. “I know. Don’t worry, we will get her back. But for now…” Pearl looks up to see the exit. She leaves out of it only to be greeted by two Pearl’s. She turns around and sees a wall, just like before.

The Pearl to her left winks at her. “Pretty cool, huh, Lieutenant?”

She shakes her head. “I can’t believe it! It was RIGHT here in the dungeons!?!?”

Amethyst chuckles. “Come on, Lieutenant. We’ve got work to do.”

The lieutenant shakes her head before following Amethyst.


	34. Old Habits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, welcome to KRMK Chapter 34! In today's chapter, we visit The Great Pink Diamond again and see what kind of shenanigans she's gotten herself into!
> 
> Can you believe it's already the end of September? I can't, but i'm excited for October, mostly because that means that the Overwatch October event will (hopefully) come back and I will get a chance of getting that Witch Mercy Skin <3\. Anyways, let me know what you think of the chapter and i'll see you next week!

Amethyst fishes in her pocket and takes out a pair of keys. She opens the door, smiling.

“Don’t worry guys, it’s just me!” Amethyst says. Pearl follows her in to see Amethyst walking towards the main table.

A collective sigh goes around the room, and it’s occupants emerge from their hiding places.

“I never thought you would come back, Amethyst.” Vidalia says, crossing her arms.

Amethyst chuckles. “Hey man, I keep my word. Anyways, I hope you guys are ready to leave this hell hole?”

“Hell yeah!” Vidalia says. “So…what’s the plan?”

Amethyst grabs a map from her belt and lays it on the table.

“Well…” she says, “It all starts with the holograms created by Hana…”

* * *

 

“What do you mean the prisoners have escaped!?!” Rose Quartz says, slamming her hands on the table in frustration.

“I-I apologize, Pink Diamond, but there really was nothing we could do.” Yellow Pearl says as she plays with her hands.

“She is right, my dear Diamond, one moment the prisoners were there, and the next they were gone!” Blue Pearl says.

Rose Quartz growls in anger. “So what, did they just disappear out of thin air? Impossible! It is because of you incompetent-“

A knock at the door interrupts Rose’s tirade. She sighs. “Ugh, what do you want? Come in.”

The door opens to reveal none other than Mustachio. She had been a shoe-in for Lieutenant Pearl’s old position, synthesize intel, create battle plans, all of that sort of thing that Lieutenant Pearl once did.

Mustachio walks into the room, bowing as she does. “I apologize for the intrusion, Pink Diamond, but I have grave news to tell you.”

Rose Quartz pinches her nose in frustration. “Ugh, alright. You two, get out of my face, I’ll deal with you later.”

Blue and Yellow Pearl quickly leave, but not before giving Mustachio a smile. Once the door closes, Mustachio removes a scroll from her belt and lays it on the table.

“This is a letter that we received from our troops stationed in Yellow Diamond’s castle. According to them, it seems that Yellow Diamond has pulled all of their resources into creating a massive number of weapons.”

“An attack.” Rose says. “But on whom? It would be unwise to ready our defensives if she decides to attack the other Kingdoms.”

Mustachio shakes her head. “Our spy is not high enough in rank to get that type of information, so we are currently in the dark about that.”

Rose nods her head. “Fair enough. We will just have to prepare for the worst. Pearl, I want you to-“

Rose turns to look at Mustachio and gasps. Rose Quartz doesn’t call any Pearl in the Kingdom Pearl.

Except for one. The one and only…

Lieutenant Pearl.

“Sorry…” she says, “I’ve gotten caught in my old habits. Fox, I want you to send more troops near our entrances, just to be on the safe side.”

Mustachio nods. “I understand. I will consult with you if we receive any further information.”

Rose nods. “Thank you. That will be all.”

Mustachio turns to the door and begins to walk to the door, but is stopped by Rose Quartz’s voice.

“Hold on…fox.” She says quietly.

Mustachio turns around. “Yes, Pink Diamond? Is something of the matter?”

“I just…I apologize for calling you by your origin name.” Rose says.

Mustachio bows. “It is not a problem, Pink Diamond. Please accept my apologizes if I’m wrong, but I take it that you used to call Lieutenant Pearl that name?”

Rose Quartz nods. “I’ve been calling her that ever since the rebellion that I didn’t know what else to call her. I’m sure you miss seeing her.”

“All us Pearl’s share the same feelings about our Lieutenant.” Mustachio says.

Rose Quartz shakes her head. “Your Lieutenant…she was a great asset to us, very strong, very loyal, and a great tactician. I am just very disappointed that she has fallen on dark times.”

“Dark times indeed.” Mustachio says slowly.

“I am still very surprised that her frame of mind has changed. She was a very loyal lieutenant for many centuries, and all of a sudden…gone. If I were to find the reason behind it…I would abolish it.” Rose Quartz says, eyes darkening.

Mustachio nods. “I’m sure you would, My Diamond.”

Rose Quartz shakes her head. “I’ve rattled on too long, you must have things to do.”

Mustachio smiles. “I may have a thing that I must attend to.”

Rose Quartz nods. “Very well. You may go.”

Mustachio bows before leaving. When she exits the room, she sees Yellow Pearl and Blue Pearl standing anxiously on the other side.

“What took you so long?!” Yellow Pearl says, impatiently.

Mustachio rolls her eyes. “She had a rant about Lieutenant Pearl. Absolute rubbish, I tell you. Anyways, I’ll be at the front gates for any last-minute preparations.”

 Yellow Pearl and Blue Pearl nod in unison. “We will meet you there.” Blue Pearl says, smiling.

* * *

 

“Ugh, I can’t believe I called that Pearl ‘Pearl’!” Rose Quartz says, slamming her hand on the table.

“Ugh, whatever, I’ll get used to it. I’d rather have a loyal lieutenant than an unloyal one-“

Rapid knocks interrupt Rose Quartz. She sighs. “What NOW?” she says angrily.

Yellow and Blue Pearl quickly open the door. “Pink Diamond! We apologize for intruding on your presence again, but we have a riot happening outside of the castle doors!” Yellow Pearl says quickly.

Rose Quartz’s eyes widen. “What? Gems?”

Blue Pearl shakes her head. “No, my diamond. Humans. All of the humans in the Kingdom have come to try and take over!”

Rose Quartz throws her hands up in frustration. “For Gems sake Pearl, why don’t you handle-“

Rose Quartz gasps again, acknowledging her blunder. She pinches her nose in frustration.

“Fine FINE. I will deal with it.” Rose turns around and grabs her sword, a great Pink sword only seen by a very unfortunate few.

Rose Quartz walks past them, slamming the door. “It will be a miracle if we still have humans after I’m done with them.” She says before leaving the area.

When she does leave, both Pearls sigh. “Well, that was stressful.” Yellow Pearl says.

“You can say that again.” Blue Pearl says.

“Well, we’ve done our part, now it’s Lieutenant Pearl’s turn.” Yellow Pearl says.

“I hope it goes well.” Blue Pearl says quietly.

Yellow Pearl smiles reassuringly at her. “Don’t worry Blue, it’s Lieutenant Pearl, she’ll be fine.”

Blue Pearl smiles, reassured.


	35. Riot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to chapter 35! Today the castle is in a riot! Will The Great Pink Diamond be able to control the chaos?
> 
> I don't have much to say about this chapter, but I really hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think and i'll see you next week!
> 
> -Ashley (Ta3peas)

Incompetent, pathetic idiots. That was the thought that ran through Rose Quartz’s head as she made her way to the entrance of the castle. Riots were outlawed in the Pink Diamond Kingdom, why wasn’t any of her gem servants forcing them out? It would not be hard to do. They were only humans, after all…unless…

Rose smiles evilly. _They want her to do the deed._ It was such a simple explanation but one that made the most sense. She chuckled. She was happy at her gems, at how much they valued her. They were sick and tired of the humans, she presumed. They wanted them gone just as much as she did. She felt honored to do it. However, she must be sly about it. Not let them know until the last moment…

It was then when she reached the castle doors. The two Pearl’s on guard saluted at her and slowly opened the castle doors. As they did, screams and shouts began to fill the hallway. When she looked out she saw the mob of humans. There were hundreds of them out there, holding signs and chanting for the fall of Rose Quartz. She chuckled.

Poor, poor humans, if you only knew what of a benefit I had been to you…

She takes a few steps forward and claps her hands, bathing the whole area in silence, save for a few shouts here and there. She clears her throat and begins to speak.

“Humans of my Kingdom. I have come to see of your pains. You speak of hunger, of pain, and most of all, of a lack of freedom. As your leader, I have given you your necessities, but yet you still ask for more? What else can a diamond give her subjects when she has given them all that she can?”

With that, the mob begins to yell again. Here and there, a few human’s voices stand out from the rest.

“There is so little food to go around here, we’re starving!” One says.

“Why should we slave over your stupid workshops when we don’t even get much out of it!” Another one says.

Rose Quartz shakes her head, and sighs. “Humans…humans…We have lived together in harmony for many years. It has been great…but what will come out of this arguing? Nothing good. I ask you…please, go back to your homes. It is already late for you all and you must sleep well if you want to succeed tomorrow.”

With that, the whole mob erupted in angry yells and screams, louder than ever before. Rose Quartz sighs. She cared for humans, she really did. But they have become uncontrollable. Their demands were too great. They knew that the gems were currently fighting a war and yet they still ask for more. She sighs. As much as they irritated her, she didn’t _really_ want to destroy them, it’s just…she had no choice.

With that thought, she unsheathes her sword and lounges towards the mob. She knows that a straight cut through the waists of the humans should be enough to finish them off. It would be a quick and painless death, no unnecessary harm. An easy job…

Well…it would be if not for the flash of light darting towards her. At first, Rose was confused. It couldn’t be a human. Humans were no way capable of moving at speeds like that. Then…a gem? But who would do it? There is no one in the Kingdom that would want to go against her…unless.

She gasps. It was Pearl. Not just a Pearl, but _her_ Pearl. The one and only Lieutenant Pearl. It was the only answer. But…wasn’t she locked up far in the depths of the Kingdom? What was she kidding. It was _Pearl_ , a lowly human cell would never keep her locked up for long.

It is then that her eyes finally confirm her suspicions. Pearl’s eyes were narrowed, determined. A twinkle causes her eyes to quickly move to the side. It was a sword. Pearl’s sword. Pearl was making a direct beeline to her. She fully intended to incapacitate her, to force her back into her gem. And she was powerless to stop it.

It was then that the pangs of regret began to surface. Centuries ago, she would be able to effortlessly dart to the side, but she had let her training go to the wayside. As leader, she needed no training, for she let her minions do her job. She never thought that one would betray her, but oh have times changed. Rose Quartz tried. Oh, did she try to move her body out of the way. But it felt as if she was lifting a pack of lead. It was useless, as useless as thinking that Pearl wouldn’t lose her loyalty to her. Pearl had remained lithe and malleable while she had become merciless and immovable.

That was the last thought that she had before Lieutenant Pearl closes the distance between them, burying her sword in Rose Quartz chest. Rose Quartz had just enough time to see the crowd cheer before her light form explodes, sending her back into her gem.


	36. Stasis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, welcome to Chapter 36 of KRMK! Today we take a look inside the Great Rose Quartz's gem.
> 
> Hey guys! So that last chapter huh? Well, let me know what you think about this chapter and i'll see you next week!
> 
> -Ashley (Ta3peas)

It took a while for Rose to realize that her eyes were squeezed shut. It was a scary thought, losing your form. She had been through many wars, but she had managed to maintain her form through each and every fight. The idea of being defenseless and locked in her gem was not something that she was used to. Eventually, she gained the courage to open her eyes. But when she did, the pristine rose-colored palace was not what lay in front of her. Instead lay an old, barren building. It’s walls were painted a sickly gray, and it looked as if one shove would send it barreling down to its demise. Above her, the usual pink clouds were saturated with a dark grey.

Rose looked around in confusion. This couldn’t be her gem, it just couldn’t, couldn’t-

It was then that Rose sees a bright light behind her. She turns around and sees a holo-pearl-no. It was Pearl, in the flesh.

She raises an eyebrow in confusion. “Pearl, what are you doing here? I-“

Suddenly, “Pearl” quickly unsheathes her sword and darts towards Rose. Rose tries to jump to dodge the attack, but something stops her. When she looks down at her feet, she notices that they are covered in hardening cement. She tries to wiggle her way out of it, but the cement is solidifying too fast. She looks back up just in time to see “Pearl” stab her in the chest once again.

* * *

 

“This is…gruesome…” Lieutenant Pearl says.

After Lieutenant Pearl had poofed Rose Quartz, they had quickly bubbled her gem and sent it to Lieutenant Pearl’s current location, a lab deep beneath the castle.

Peridot turns around in her chair to look at Pearl. “We aren’t controlling any aspect of her gem right now, so all of this is a product of her consciousness.”

Pearl nods. “I see. So I guess the first question is, how are you able to see into her gem?”

Peridot smiles. “Hana will explain that for you.” She says as she gestures towards Hana.

Hana stands up from her chair and walks towards Pearl. “Lieutenant Pearl, I have been working with Peridot, experimenting on how to be able to see into a gem, but we have found out that this is the best method.”

Hana walks over to a cylindrical contraption and presses a button. The steel sides of the cylinder raise up, allowing Pearl to see the contents of the cylinder. She gasps. In the plastic cylinder was Rose’s gem. It was currently being suspended in a green liquid.

“Wait, where is the bubble? Wont she be able to reform?”

Hana shakes her head. “We use lasers to see into her gem, but these lasers were too strong for your bubbles, so we created this liquid. It has similar properties to your bubbles, but the lasers are able to pass through it without changing its properties.”

Pearl’s eyes widen. “Wow, that’s pretty amazing, good job Hana.”

Hana smiles. “Thank you.”

Pearl looks up to the main terminal to see that Rose continues to be destroyed by Pearl after Pearl.

She sighs. “Peridot, can we do anything about this? I’m sure that this behavior is anything but conductive to an interrogation.”

Peridot nods. “I agree. Let me see what I can do.”

Peridot begins to type on her computer, and the scenery begins to change. Eventually the dreary setting turns into the training room in the castle.

Peridot smiles. “Alright, there we go. I would have made Rose Quartz’s quarters, but I am not too familiar with that place so this was the next best thing.”

Pearl smiles. “Excellent, that will work out- “

Pearl gasps as she sees a white room touch down onto the training room, locking Rose in it.

Pearl looks at Peridot. “What’s happening?!”

Peridot shakes her head. “Although I can change things, the consciousness of her gem still has some control over it. I’m no psychologist, but I believe that she feels locked in and defenseless right now.”

Pearl nods. “Well, I guess this is the best time to have a talk with her then.”

Peridot nods. “Hana, ready the mike!”

Hana nods and clicks open a compartment. The mike slides out of it.

Peridot gestures to a button on the mike’s side. “Hold that button down when you want to talk with her. I have programmed it so that a Pearl will show up in her visions as well, so it will be as if you were there talking to her.”

Pearl nods. “Alright.”

She sighs. “Here we go.”


	37. The Interrogation Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to Chapter 37 of KRMK! In this chapter we will be having a little chit-chat with the Great Pink Diamond herself! Please let me know what you think of the chapter and i'll see you next week!

_No, this time it’s different, I’ll get her this time…_

This was the thought that kept racing in Rose’s head. She would do it. She would escape from the quickly forming cement and lunge out of the way of Pearl’s sword. She failed again and again, but that would not stop her. She knew that she just needed to evade it once. One time was all that she would need to get the upper hand. One time to change her fate. One time-

It was then that the scenery changed. It morphed, the shapes moving quietly in space until the castle training room morphed into view. Rose’s eyes widened. What was going on? She did not ask her gem to change the scenery, so why did it do as such? I mean, I wasn’t like someone from the outside was controlling-

Suddenly, a shadow appears from above. She looks up to see a building falling towards her! She covers her head as the building falls to the ground. When she opens her eyes, she sees that she is now in a small white room. Curtains appear at the widows and shut themselves, blinding Rose from the view outside. A table and two chairs appear. Rose sits down at one chair and sighs.

“Gem, please tell me what’s going on…I don’t understand, am I…is my gem cracked?” she says, face contorted in worry.

_“Do not worry Rose, your gem is quite safe.”_ A familiar voice says.

_Pearl…_

Rose gasps and jumps out of her chair. She goes to grab her sword from her side, but her eyes widen when she realizes that it has disappeared.

_“Please sit down Rose, you do not worry, I will not hurt you.”_ Pearl says.

Rose shakes her head. “How do I know that Pearl, how do I know that you will not harm me when you are the reason that I am here in the first place!”

Pearl sighs. “Rose…I-we had no choice. This was deemed to be the safest way to talk to you…but I understand. I have seen the Pearl’s that have gone against you. I will appear, and you can make your decision on whether to attack me or not.”

Rose’s eyes widen when Pearl appears in the room. It was Pearl…but it wasn’t Pearl. Others can go into another’s gem, but this Pearl felt…unreal. But at the same time, she knew it was her. It confused and perplexed her, so much so that even Pearl knew.

“Rose…you look confused.” Pearl said gently.

Rose stands awkwardly, fiddling her fingers. “Pearl is that…is that really you?”

Pearl chuckles. “It is me, sort of. We have created a technology that can change the landscape of the inside of a gem at will, and one of the things that we can do is project someone into a gem. Even though you can see me clearly, I am actually talking to you through a microphone.”

Rose gasps. “But how…how?”

Pearl smiles. “Do not worry.” She gestures at the seat closest to Rose. “Please, have a seat. There are things we must talk about.”

Rose sighs and sits down. Pearl does the same. After a few seconds of silence, Pearl speaks.

“Do you know why all of those humans were out on the castle grounds?”

Rose scoffs. “Why should I know? I don’t know!”

Pearl sighs. “They were your last chance, Rose. Your last chance to prove to us that you are still a benevolent leader. But you have failed that test, and that’s why we sit here today.”

Rose throws her hands in the air. “Why do you care so much about humans, Pearl? We have wars to win!”

Pearl shakes her head. “I care about humans because _you USED to_ care about humans Rose! That was the whole reason why we came to earth! Do you still remember that or did your bloodlust get in the way!”

Rose gasps, taken aback at how direct Pearl was being.

Pearl leans forward in her chair. “Rose, the reason why we created the Kingdom, why we fought for these humans was because you believed in them! Not me, you!”

Rose shakes her head. “Things have changed, Pearl. I was wrong.”

Pearl slams her fist on the table. “No! You are wrong! Sure, I never believed in humans before, but my trip around the kingdom has shown me not just the wonders of humanity, but of the horrid conditions that we have left them with!”

Rose’s eyes widen in fury. “So THAT’S where you went! You spent time fraternizing with humans!”

Pearl slams her hands on the table and stands up. “YES! That’s where I went! I could not understand my feelings, Rose, so I went on a little walk around the Kingdom! And I am glad that I did! All these years…”

Pearl sits down and sighs. “All these years I’ve been protecting humans without really understanding them. I protected them because _you_ wanted to. I never understood them because I never took the time. But when I did, I found out that they could do more than I could even imagine.”

Pearl sighs. “Rose, when we were still on homeworld, we were given a specific job, and that was it. The diamonds were the queens and we were our subjects. But when we rebelled, we found out that gems could do a lot more than just their prescribed jobs. How is this any different than that, Rose? We have become the diamonds, and the humans have become the low caste gems. We have become the diamonds, Rose.”

Rose puts her head in her hands. A thousand thoughts were running through her head, and yet nothing at all. It was so much to take in. She sighed.

“Thank you for talking to me, Pearl. I…I need some time to think about…my actions, everything, and just…I will alert you when I am ready to talk again.”

Pearl nods. As she does, a button appears on the table. “When you want to talk to us again, press this button and we will be in touch again.”

Rose nods. “Thank you…Pearl.”

Pearl smiles. “Anything for you Rose.”

Pearl disappears, leaving Rose in her own thoughts yet again.

* * *

 

Pearl releases the button on the intercom, closing the voice connection. She turns to look at Peridot.

“Well,” she says, “how was that?”

Peridot smiles. “I think that went great. Now we just have to wait.”

Pearl sighs. “Yes…that’s the hardest part.”

* * *

 

The next two weeks were spent heavily enforcing new rules in the human parts of the Kingdoms. Lieutenant Pearl had been put in as the new leader of the Kingdom, and with it great change was taking place. Food was grown at an exponential pace to help feed the starving humans. Gems were on patrol for the benefit of the humans, not the gems. At the two-week mark, they began to devise plans on constructing new houses for the humans. It was around that time that they received an alert from Rose’s gem. Peridot and Hana quickly set up everything and Pearl is quickly put into position in front of the mike as Peridot sends Pearl’s hologram into Rose’s gem.

“Rose, we have seen your alert sign. Have you decided?” Pearl says.

Peridot’s eyes narrow in concern. Pearl looks nervous.

On the screen, Peridot sees Rose nod. “I-I am a fool, Pearl…I have realized that…and I would like to help you reconstruct this Kingdom.”


	38. Development

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I am pleased to present to you chapter 38 of KRMK. After all of the fights and rebellions, it seems that Rose Quartz has finally seen the light and have begun to help the gems restructure the Kingdom for the better. Let's take a look at how things are going, shall we?
> 
> As always, thank you so much for continuing to be a patreon! I really appreciate it, and hope that my stories are enjoyable! Let me know what you think about this chapter and i'll see you next week!

“That looks great, Pearl.” Rose says as she watches Lieutenant Pearl hang up a sign. She looks at it happily. After weeks of planning, The Bunker was finally complete. The Bunker was a pub that gems and humans alike could go and hang out. It was a place made so that humans and gems could come and just…understand each other. It was something that she wished she had all those decades ago.

The past two months had been very eventful for Rose. As soon as she realizes the err of her ways, she made a talk to the whole Kingdom of her faults and the promises of the future. And she had stuck to her promise. Since then, new homes have been made, the production of crops have been increased, and most of the laws of the land have been abolished. Sure, the laws against theft and murder were still around, but they were a necessity for the few that have been used to having bloodied hands.

The most important thing was that Rose was no longer Pink Diamond anymore. The first law of the lands had been the first to be abolished. Why should she have the name of an oppressive tyrant? Thus, she took back her real name, Rose Quartz. Or Rose, for short. Lieutenant Pearl didn’t particularly like this change, but she, too felt that it was a necessity. Pink Diamond may have been shattered thousands of years ago, but she finally died when the law was abolished. When Pink Diamond had been shattered it was as if she had become possessed by the diamond. The greed, the hunger for power…these were things that she saw in Pink Diamond, and these were the things that she herself possessed for a hundred years. It was as if she had been put in a stasis for a hundred years. That tyrant that had lead the Kingdom wasn’t her, but then again…she had remembered the feeling of power, but more importantly, she remembered feeling scared. Scared that it would all fall apart, that the Kingdom that she worked so hard on would be given over to the diamonds. She needed power over the humans to ensure their survival…or so she thought.

And Pearl…

She sighed. Pearl had done so much for her and yet she had treated her like trash the moment Pearl disobeyed her. Pearl had blindly obeyed her for thousands of years, yet her shining moment was when she didn’t. It hurts Rose to think of how Pearl must have felt realizing that Rose had faults – terrible, horrible faults. If she could erase the past hundred years and restart again, she would. She would be a better ruler to all those humans that died from starvation, in jail, all of them. But she can’t take back time. All she can do to mend the wounds is to help the current humans of her Kingdom find peace again. One day, she knows that she must step down and let them take charge. I mean, what does she know that a human doesn’t? She’s been alive for thousands of years and she had still become a tyrant, age does not matter. But for now…she will remain their ruler. Their kind and thoughtful leader. For a hundred years fear had lead the Kingdom but for the first time ever…

Kindness will rule her Kingdom.

* * *

 

Rose sat for a while in the castle, sipping some tea while looking out of her window. She usually hated looking down at her Kingdom, but today was a new day. The newly built houses were shining in the day, and happy humans were slowing moving into them, ready to start their lives over again. Seeing the humans happy made her happy. It was all she could wish for.

She sighed. She forgot how it felt to be content like this. Power, greed, it meant nothing to her right now. If the humans were happy and safe, then she was content.

A sound from the window breaks her from her thoughts. She turns to look at the window and sees a yellow bird. She approaches the bird and it does not fly away. Instead, it sticks its leg out. On its leg was a note. She removes it from its leg and unfurls the note while the bird flies away. The note said:

_To Pink Diamond, or…Rose Quartz as you are now calling yourself,_

_I am a gem in the Pink Diamond Kingdom. I have diligently followed your orders, and pretended to be a friend of your light, but in reality, I am not. The Great Yellow Diamond has entrusted me to gather information about your Kingdom and I had done so. If you are reading this letter, that means that I am no longer in the Kingdom grounds. I have told The Great Yellow Diamond everything there is to know about your pathetic Kingdom. And yet, The Great Yellow Diamond is kind. She has alerted me to tell you that in a month, Yellow Diamond forces will be coming. I am confident that you will not be able to stop them. They will win, these pathetic Kingdoms will end and we will all go back to Homeworld and you will return to becoming a mere foot soldier, as you should be._

_-Soldier 309_


	39. Preparations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Welcome to Chapter 39 of KRMK! A gloomy cloud seems to have fallen on our heroes again! How will all be affected by that letter? Well, read on to find out!
> 
> Thanks for your continued patronage! Please let me know your thoughts on the chapter! Did you like it? Were you expecting it to go this way? Let me know, and i'll see you next week!

Rose raises her head to look at Lieutenant Pearl. Her hands covered her mouth, eyes wide in fear.

Rose sighs. “What are we going to do, Pearl?”

Pearl sighs, and shakes her head, snapping her out of her trace. “Rose this…this isn’t just a Yellow Diamond war.”

Rose raises an eyebrow. “Do you mean…”

Pearl nods. “Look what it says Rose: ‘ _The Kingdoms will end..._ ‘ _We will all return to homeworld…’._ Those are words that hint of a goal of complete destruction of our Kingdom.”

Pearl begins to pace. “Yellow Diamond troops may be the first to advance to our area, but I am certain that the others will follow.” Pearl shakes her head. “I can’t believe that they were all scheming behind our back this whole time!”

Rose sighs. “It is inevitable, Pearl. The way that they ran their Kingdoms wasn’t for long-term ruling. They were doing it to create more gems, more warriors. Only then would they attack.”

Pearl sighs, and walks over to the table, leaning on it. “You’re right…I guess the only thing we can do now is prepare.”

Rose nods. “Yes, but before that…we need to break the news to them all…”

* * *

 

The Lieutenant looks up from the letter, and in similar fashion, she sees faces clouded with fear and worry. A few Pearls are huddled together, crying. The humans of the castle were in the crowd too, and they looked at each other in concern. She felt bad for them: they were going to be a part of a war that they did not belong in.

She sighs. _‘All the training in the world never prepares one for real war.’_

“I know…I know you are all scared. Scared to go back to Homeworld. Scared to fight in a war that you have never heard of before. But we will all get through this.” Lieutenant Pearl smiles. “Do you know why we will get through this?”

The crowd was silent, waiting expectantly for her response.

“It’s because we are not like their Kingdoms. They separate the ‘weak’ gems and the ‘strong’ gems and see humans as nothing more than war fodder. But we are different! We are not just humans and gems! We are one! We know our individual strengths and weaknesses, we do not assume your worth based on your species! Now, who’s ready to get to work!”

The crowd erupts in yells and cheers. Pearl smiled. The crowd looked much confident than they did a few minutes before. Pearl puts her hands up and the crowd slowly settles back down.

“Excellent! Let’s get to some logistics. Combat ready gems will be put on the front line, we need you to make sure that they cannot advance to our gates. For those of you that want to fight but are new, we will teach you long range battle techniques so that you can help those on the front line. For the rest, think deeply of your own personal strengths and how those strengths can help our preparations. While brute force is important, we also need weapon and armor researchers, lookouts, teachers, builders and many more. If you think of something that could help the effort that I have not listed, please let us know and we can find a way to incorporate it into our day to day tasks.”

Pearl clears her throat before continuing. “Since humans are not able to reform themselves after a fatal blow, it is probably best that they do not participate in the actual fighting. Instead, please think of your strengths. You can absolutely help us with building armor and weapons, or doing such things like research. During the actual fight, we will need you all to be the central command. Every squad leader will have a communication device. This will allow you to talk to central command and the other squad leaders. We need those with the strongest tactical skills to be the leaders of central command because you will be gathering all of the information on the battlefield and giving out orders that will give us a tactical advantage on the battlefield.”

With that, a lone Pearl raises her hand. Lieutenant Pearl smiles. “Yes, did you have a question?”

The pearl, Blue Pearl nods shyly. “Lieutenant will you…be fighting with us as well?”

Lieutenant Pearl smiles. “Of course. I am your Lieutenant, so I will be with all of you in battle. Now, we don’t know when these forces will be coming for us, so we must begin training immediately.”

Lieutenant Pearl sighs. “I know this is all very scary for you all. Everything seemed to be doing better in the Kingdom, and now everything comes back to make us fall again. But this time…it is different. We are one Kingdom, gem, human, all of us. And together…we will fight for our freedom.”

The crowd begins to cheer again, much louder than last time. Lieutenant Pearl looks to the crowd to see Amethyst, Greg, Hana, Garnet, and all the others that she had recently crossed paths with. They smile at her in pride.


	40. Uncertainty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, welcome to chapter 40 of KRMK! Today we will see a little conversation between Lieutenant Pearl and Amethyst, once sworn enemies, now...friends?
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, hope everyone is enjoying the chapters! Please let me know what you think about this chapter and i'll see you next week!

Lieutenant Pearl walks off the stage, smiling as the crowd continues to cheer and holler. However, when she steps off the stage, her features darken.

This war…she knew that it wouldn’t be like the one she fought in thousands of years ago. The Diamonds have had too much time to themselves. Who knows what kind of inventions they could’ve made during that time? And what about sheer number of gems? It was confirmed quite some time ago that Kindergartens were in full production in all three gem Kingdoms. There had been attempts to destroy them in the past, but they had always survived. Severely damaged, but still operational. Who knows how many gem warriors could have been created! The Pink Diamond Kingdom had a small Kindergarten, but the only type of gem they could create from it were Pearls. And her Pearls…she sighed. Only a small majority of them had ever been close to seeing the carnage that war brought…

It was then that she noticed a purple hand waving in front of her. She blinks, bringing her out of her worried thoughts. She looks down and sees Amethyst looking back at her in concern.

“Hey you…ya doin’ ok there?” Amethyst says slowly.

“Yeah, I’m doing great is just…” Pearl sighs.

Amethyst chuckles. “You looked real confident up there, Lieutenant, but your face changed the moment you stepped off stage. You’re worried, aren’t you?”

Pearl nods “It’s just…” Pearl sighs. She grabs a chair near her and sits in it, covering her face in her hands.

“Many of the gems in the castle were created long after the gem wars were over. Although we had tried to train them the best that we can, it’s just…what if it’s not enough? What if the Diamonds had created a superweapon that wipes us all out? What if…” Pearl slouches on her chair, eyes filled with worry.

Amethyst sighs. “Lieutenant, I’ll be honest. I’m a little freaked out about this too. Living in White Diamond’s castle has been hell, but we’ve never had to deal with an all-out war. But I believe in us, Lieutenant. And you know why I do?”

Lieutenant Pearl raises her head. “Why is that, Amethyst?”

“Because we believe in each other. In White Diamond’s Kingdom, I just felt like fodder, a tool to be used for a cause that I didn’t believe in. But here…here is different. All the gems _and_ humans here truly care about making this Kingdom a better place. They wish for peace, but understand that that peace comes at a price. I’ve never been to Yellow Diamond or Blue Diamond’s Kingdom, but I’m pretty sure that it’s no different. We may not have the numbers or the strength, but our passion will bring us there.”

Pearl stares at Amethyst with wide eyes. “Wow Amethyst…that was…that was really good.”

Amethyst smiles. “I try, I try. So you feeling better now, Lieutenant?”

Pearl smiles. “Yes, but please, call me Pearl.”

Amethyst chuckles. “All right…Pearl. So, since we need to begin training, I was thinking, ya know, you still owe me a ‘proper’ training session, don’t you?”

Pearl laughs awkwardly. “Oh right…about that…I’m sorry that I kind of...”

Amethyst laughs. “Kicked my ass? Yeah, don’t worry about it. So, that training session?”

Pearl smirks. “I won’t needlessly ‘kick your ass’, but I won’t go easy on you.”

Amethyst grins. “Oh bring it _ON_ woman!”

* * *

 

Pearl and Amethyst find themselves sitting at a picnic table at the training center a few hours later. The both of them sit quietly as they watch a few other gems spar with each other. Amethyst is the first to break the silence by chuckling. Pearl turns to look at Amethyst, eyebrow raised.

“What’s so funny?” she says.

Amethyst shakes her head. “No it’s just…you’re actually a pretty good sparring partner when you’re not trying to kill me.”

Pearl chuckles. “Thank you…?”

Amethyst chuckles. “No, really. I never really knew that I was holding my sword wrong. Actually, that’s probably why my hands always hurt after a swordfight.”

Pearl shakes her head. “That would make perfect sense. But I’m glad you feel that my teachings are beneficial.”

Amethyst shakes her head. “So, what now? Have you got Lieutenant things to be doing now?”

Pearl scratches her chin. “Hmm…well, I do have to talk with Rose on war preparations. The gems are trying their hardest to improve, so we need to make sure we have the technology necessary to help them out.”

Amethyst chuckles. “So Hana’s gonna go and save the day again?”

Pearl nods. “It does seem so…actually, we could probably use some of her past inventions in the war. I’ll probably go and take a stroll down to the scientific headquarters.”

“Sounds fun, mind if I join you?” Amethyst says.

Pearl smiles. “Sure, Hana will be happy to see you again.”

Pearl and Amethyst leave the training room, closing the door behind them.


	41. Two Weeks

It’s been two weeks. Two weeks since that fateful letter. Since then, the entire Kingdom has been lit a fire with activity. Humans and gems alike have begun preparations for war. The scientists have been busy creating new and stronger armor for the gems. The builders have been making strongholds for the humans to live in during the war. And, of course, the fighters themselves have been busy training. For many, this would be the first time that they have been at war. For others, it was just a nightmare come back to live. But regardless, they all pushed onwards, for that was all they could do.

In the research and development department, all energy was poured into improving their gem stasis technology. They knew that gems would be poofed in an alarming rate, so they had to figure out a way to safely bring those gems to the depths of the castle without harming them. It was especially pertinent because of the recent expansion into long range weaponry. If they were to successfully use long range weaponry, then they needed some way to safely transport the gems back to the castle without having the gems reform. Pearl was excited to see what they would create to solve that problem, but what she was much more excited to see was the improvement that the gems had in training for the war itself.

As Lieutenant Pearl walked into the training grounds, she saw that it was packed as usual. She did come here quite often to train, but what was more important for her now was to be the teacher. She went around to each group of gems. She watched them spar, and would then give them tips on how to improve. Each group would listen with rapt attention and immediately apply the teachings to their training. As the Lieutenant looks around the area, she is pleasantly surprised at the growth that these gems had faced. What was once timid fighters were now fearless fighters. And yet they still had room for improvement, even Lieutenant Pearl herself.

The Lieutenant gives some last words of advice to a group of gems before moving onto the next group of sparring partners. She smiles when she sees that it is Amethyst and Bismuth. Amethyst dodges a sword slash before looking up. When she sees Pearl, she smiles and rolls out of the way of Bismuth. She walks towards Pearl, grinning.

“Hey, what’s up my Lieutenant!” Amethyst says happily.

Pearl chuckles. “I told you to stop calling me Lieutenant.”

Amethyst shakes her head. “I know I know, just playin with ya. So, how are we doing, Pearl?”

Pearl scratches her chin. “Hmm… have very good techniques. Your dodging is correctly timed. I think I’ll be taking over her training from now on.”

Bismuth nods. “I think that’s about right. I’ve been running outta stuff to teach her after all! So Lieutenant, what’s my next job?”

Pearl looks at Bismuth. “During the first war you were in charge of weapon creation. We don’t know how long this one will last, so I think we need to find ways to make our weapons last longer. If all goes well, maybe you won’t have to be on the battlefield.”

Bismuth chuckles. “That is a hope that you and I share, Lieutenant. I’ll start on weapon research and let you know what I manage to create.”

Pearl nods. “The underground forge should still be there, it might be a little dusty, but I’m sure you’ll get it running in no time.”

Bismuth winks. “You know I will.” She looks at Amethyst. “Alright girl, guess I’ll be leaving you in the Lieutenant’s hands.”

Amethyst chuckles. “Alright then, I’ll see ya.”

Bismuth waves back before leaving the training area. When the door closes, Amethyst looks back at Amethyst and chuckles. Amethyst raises an eyebrow.

“What’s so funny, Pearl?” she says in a teasing manner.

Pearl waves it away. “No it’s just…you’ve started off with good foundational fighting techniques, but now…you’re probably better than everyone in this room…except me, I think.”

Amethyst’s eyes widen in surprise. “You…think?”

Pearl nods. “Don’t be so surprised. I’ve been…slacking a bit in my training. If I don’t train more, then I’m afraid that you’ll easily pass even me.”

Amethyst chuckles. “I’m glad that I’m keeping you on your toes then.”

Pearl shakes her head. “Right, anyways, let’s continue your sparring. Remember, I have a much smaller frame than Bismuth, so I’m much less forgiving when it comes to attack accuracy.”

Amethyst nods and gets herself into position. Right as she is about to lunge at Pearl, a tremor rocks through the castle. Amethyst stops herself and looks up at the castle.

“What the hell was that?” Amethyst says. She looks around to see the other occupants of the training grounds looking around in confusion. Another tremor shakes the castle, louder than the first.

“No…not yet.” Pearl says. Amethyst turns around to look at Pearl. Her face was white with horror.

Amethyst gasps. “You don’t mean…”

Pearl grabs her hand. “Come on! Let’s go!”

* * *

 

Pearl and Amethyst leave the training grounds. As soon as they do, the tremor heard from the inside of the training grounds is amplified. She gasps. It was explosions. Pearl leads Amethyst to the nearest window. As soon as they look outside, their fears are confirmed.

In front of the castle grounds lay rows upon rows of Yellow Diamond forces. Amethysts, Jaspers, everyone. They did not have two more weeks left to train.

For the war begins now.


	42. Yellow Diamond Forces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After deliberation, I have decided to put this story on an indefinite hiatus. Please read more here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/notes-from-15106703
> 
> Thank you for reading so far! Thank you for all of your support, and I hope to serve you again soon! :)

Lieutenant Pearl couldn’t think. Couldn’t speak. She didn’t know why she was surprised. The surprise ambush was one that armies tried to do all the time. It gives you time to wreak havoc while the enemies try desperately to process what’s going on. And that was what she was trying to do. As she was doing so, her eyes see a small speak of yellow move to the front of the mob of enemies. It was a Zircon.

She clears her throat before lifting a microphone to her face. “After intense deliberation, it is decided that the Pink Diamond Kingdom must be punished.” She says. “We have wasted over a hundred years here, thousands of gems have been hurt, and thousands and thousands of hours have been spent unproductively. Due to these terms, the Yellow Diamond Kingdom hereby declares war on the Pink Diamond Kingdom. Please do not resist capture.”

The Zircon hastily runs to the side as the army begins to swarm the Pink Diamond castle. It is then that the Lieutenant snaps out of it. If it is war that they want, then war they will get.

She turns to look at her subordinates. They are all frozen in fear. “What are you doing!” she yells, “Raise the drawbridge so they can’t get in!”

Suddenly, all of the gems scramble to the bridge. They get it up just in time. A brave gem tries to jump over the ledge, but an arrow hits her in the center of her chest, poofing her. Lieutenant Pearl looks to the side. It was Bismuth who shot the arrow.

She smiles. “Nice shot!”

Bismuth smirks. “Thank dear, now get your army in order!”

The Lieutenant nods. “Okay everybody! Let’s get those cannons firing!”

The army scrambles to get the cannons set up. It is a clumsy, slow process, but the Lieutenant is patient with them.

_This is their first fight, I’m sure many are scared out of their wits._

They get the cannons set up and begin shooting. The Lieutenant goes to a lone cannon, manning it. She sees that the other cannons are doing quick work at the enemy. Lieutenant Pearl shoots farther than most of the others, opting to get the archers in the back. She looks up to the window of the castle. It was a good thing that they finished the window shields when they did – they were taking the brunt of the damage, and it didn’t look like they were going to fall anytime soon.

However, the enemy did not look like they were fairing as well. The damage from the cannons were completely wreaking them. The Lieutenant could see the gems falling left and right. However, as soon as they were poofed, they were coming back, ready for more. She knew that this could last forever, so more tactical steps needed to be taken.

Lieutenant Pearl grabs a walkie-talkie from her belt. “Robotics department! Send in the drones!”

“Yes sir!” A human says. It was Hana.

Lieutenant Pearl puts her walkie-talkie back on her belt and continues firing at the horde. As see does, she sees the robonoids crawl out of their hiding places. The robonoids began to crawl over to the poofed gems, collecting them and putting them in the green liquid, preventing them from reforming. The enemy noticed the robonoids and began to attack them.

“Switch to your pistols! Make sure no one destroys a single robonoid!” Pearl says quickly.

“Yes sir!” her army says in unison as they begin to shoot at the enemy with their pistols.

Pearl draws out her pistol as well. She watches as a Jasper lunges for a robonoid. She shoots at her, poofing her and causing her gem to fall into the liquid of the robonoid.

Lieutenant Pearl chuckles. “You faced the same fate as your comrade in the end.” She says simply.

Lieutenant Pearl looks out into the distance. While much of the army fought in the front lines, there was three gems that stood in the distance, watching them. A blue, purple, and yellow one. She reasoned that those must be the captains of the squadrons. If they are gone, then the squadron might as well be defeated. She grabs her walkie-talkie and talks into it again.

“Hana!” The Lieutenant says, “I’m going to go out and get the captains! Have a robonoid follow me for gem retrieval!”

“Aye-aye captain!” Hana says. Pearl rolls her eyes. “Hana, I’m a-you know what, nevermind, let’s just do this.”

Pearl turns to look at her army. “I’m going out, cover me!”

She jumps out the window and the enemy suddenly goes for her, the robonoids forgotten. However, the cover from her army helps her dart through them and get to the captains. She unshealthes her sword and goes to stab the nearest one, but she summons a shield. Pearl’s sword hits it, and the gem rams her to the side. Pearl quickly stands up, dodging bullets from the yellow gem. As soon as she does, she sees a bolt of thunder streaking its way towards her. She dodges it, barely.

_I’ve got to get this blue shield bearer out of the way first._

Pearl lunges for the shield bearer, knocking her off of her feet. As the gem falls, she grabs Pearl’s leg, taking her down with her. However, before she falls, she manages to kick the gems shield away from her and her comrades. The blue gem tries to get up, but Pearl is faster. Pearl quickly gets up and stabs the gem in the chest, poofing her.

She turns to look at the 2 remaining captains. She smirks. They look scared. She darts for them as the yellow gem begins to fire shots at her. She uses her sword to deflect the bullets and effortlessly slices the gem in two, poofing yet another captain.

She turns to the last one, the purple gem with the electrical power. “You guys don’t seem all that strong for captains.” Pearl says. The purple gem says nothing.

Pearl notices that the gem has her hand behind her back. Her hand. With her staff. Behind her back.

Uh-oh.

Pearl moves just in time for her to dodge the thunder blast. She looks back at the purple gem. She falls to her feet, exhausted.

_That must have been her trump card. Well, I guess it’s time._

Pearl calmly walks to the purple gem captain and stabs her in the stomach, poofing her. As soon as she does so, the robonoid walks up to the gem and collects it. The blue and yellow gems are already in the bath. She looks back at the castle and sees that her army is also successful. Not a single enemy was left. Pearl smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to the first chapter of my new work! If you like it, please leave a comment or a kudo, if you wish! Thanks for reading!


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